


Mid-Season Prom

by Fiendish_Kitty



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Blood, Coercion, Cooking, Dissociation, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gratuitous Smut in later chapters, Insecurity, Kidnapping, Magic, Multi, Nightmares, Non-Consensual Tickling, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Party Planning, Prom, Rape/Non-con Elements, Strangulation, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:48:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 117,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23361232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiendish_Kitty/pseuds/Fiendish_Kitty
Summary: “He wants us to do what!?” You stare incredulously at the demon seated at the opposite end of the breakfast table, a pit opening in your stomach as memories of your time in high school come flooding back to haunt you.Diavolo's curiosity for the human world is seemingly endless, and now the house of Lamentation has been issued the task of hosting the Devildom's first Prom.Will you survive the anxieties of your youth bubbling back to the surface? More importantly will you be able to resist the brothers' charms, and wrangle their wildly differing opinions into a cohesive prom theme that will please Diavolo, so that none of you end up hung upside down in the foyer?
Comments: 495
Kudos: 669





	1. Why is Breakfast Never Peaceful?

**Author's Note:**

> I might be taking liberties with the timeline, but this is loosely intended to happen around chapter 17, and take place over the course of a month.
> 
> The first few chapters are SFW, but eventually there will definitely be smut, probably self indulgent gratuitous smut - with an unnamed brother/brothers (I want it to unfold in the story for you and not reveal who upfront).  
> I also swear regularly, and it winds up in my writing - Sorry, not sorry though.
> 
> Perfectionism is a thing - It plagues me, and I identify with Lucifer. So please bare with me, chapters might be slow to be uploaded as a result.

“He wants us to do what!?” You stare incredulously at the demon seated at the opposite end of the breakfast table, a pit opening in your stomach as memories of your time in high school come flooding back to haunt you. The teasing, the cat calling, the feeling of being so desperately out of place. Not even one semester had passed since your unexpected arrival, yet you already felt more at home here in the Devildom than you had during the entirety of your teenage years.

Lucifer blinked at you perturbed, clinking his coffee cup back down onto the table. “ **Diavolo…** ” he enunciated, obviously displeased that you had effectively reduced their prince to _‘ **HE WHAT!?** ’_.

“Diavolo, has gotten word of a high school tradition in the human world, known as a Prom.” He repeated his earlier announcement, while staring at your rapidly paling face. “And, He wants the residents of the house of lamentation to plan a prom at his castle, to celebrate the end of the semester before the mid-season break.”

_‘This was it, this was the punishment for all the bad karma you could’ve ever imagined that you might have accumulated. You are doomed to repeat the same arduous humiliation that you had tried to block out of the memories of your life in high school. Ok, maybe not **that** bad’_

You scold yourself, _‘You’re exaggerating.’_

You twisted your fingers into one end of your silk scarf as it hung down low in your lap. Fidgeting while you tried to wrangle your mind back in, as it ran away with insecure, anxiety causing memories. Eventually you gathered the strength to speak, and shocked even yourself when you blurted out, “Who the bloody hell told him about those?”

This triggered a moment of raucous laughter from your previously silenced breakfast mates. Which was quickly halted by Lucifer clearing his throat.

You saw Lucifer clench his jaw while considering his response to you. He looked down at your fidgeting hands, and back to your horrified expression.

Mammon visibly moved away from him a few feet, Leviathan put his D.D.D in his pocket as if to stand but didn’t dare retreat, even Beelzebub refrained from returning to his breakfast while all eyes laid on the eldest. He took a breath and steadied his own crimson gaze on your face, he waved his hand airily and the room relaxed again as he spoke. “Simeon witnessed one while he was guiding one of his charges. He is apparently enthralled with some crowning democracy?”

You found yourself repeating his words as you relaxed, trying not to analyse why he wasn’t angry with you, “Crowning democracy? What on earth?...”, you trailed off as realisation hit you.

_‘Oh gods, he means the prom king and queen. Yes, of course he would have noted that bit too. Ugh, just my luck.’_

“He is talking about the Prom King, and Queen”, you sigh, “It’s essentially a popularity vote to crown a king and queen for the night.”

“Oohh how cute!”, Asmodeus’ chirpy voice lilted across the table as he flashed you a smile. “Of **course** _,_ it’ll be me. But… I wonder who my queen would be? Hmm?”. He pressed a finger to his lips and winked at you. A mischievous twinkle crossed his eyes when you flushed on cue to his teasing.

Mammon bristled beside you and slammed his hand on the table as he shot to his feet, “What are ya sayin’ ‘bout my human huh? If she’s gonna be queen then it should be me that’s king!”

Satan leaned back in his chair to watch proceedings and cast you an amused glance as you tried to shrink down into your own. If you could only recede far enough to eat your breakfast quietly, maybe Mammon would just quit it.

 _‘Who are you kidding? Mammon is the loudest most boisterous being you’ve ever met. Lack of attention only makes this fool worse… A **loveable fool** though’_, A small smile starts to grace your lips before more of the breakfast attendees start to chime in.

“Your jealousy is showing.” Leviathan tittered, slipping his D.D.D back out of his pocket. Mammon bypassed blushing and went straight to a heated tomato red. Levi snapped a picture of him, no doubt to tease him with on Devilgram later.

“Nah. I..It’s my job to protect her isn’t it? I was her first after all, only makes sense I should do it. S..so I can keep ‘MC’ safe for the night. There’ll be a lo’ of lower demons there from R.A.D.”, Mammon spluttered, “And! And! Delete that damn picture! I’m ya older brother, have some respect.”. He was shaking his fists in the air now and glaring furiously at Leviathan.

Lucifer raised his eyebrow but chose not to interject, as Satan placed his cup down and opened his mouth to silence a floundering Mammon.

Asmodeus beat him to it though, “Oh please. Show some decorum.” He waved his hand dismissively at Mammon.

The avatar of lust then leaned forward and tilted his head, surprising you as he looked curiously into Leviathan’s eyes, now ignoring the second born completely. He tutted, “It would take one to know one, would it not? Perhaps it is our resident expert in envy who would rather see himself king alongside ‘MC’? Hmm?”. He narrowed his eyes pointedly at his brother.

Leviathan squirmed under his gaze, his flush rivalling Mammon’s as he glared at you like it was all your fault. “Pfft. Like I’d take some normie for my queen.” He shook his head and wrinkled his nose, before covering his face with his sleeve and briskly standing to leave.

You looked on hopelessly as he disappeared, and the others continued to bicker. This is mortifying to you, you hate being the centre of attention.

You push some remnants of food around your plate trying hard to ignore the back and forth going on around you.

Slowly a hand comes into your vision and you tense, desperately willing not to be pulled back into this debacle by whoever was vying for your attention. It takes a few seconds to notice that the hand’s owner is Beel, the realisation makes you feel oddly warm. Resting his hand on yours reassuringly, he smiles at you before sliding some toast towards you.

“Take it with you, you need to make sure you eat enough”, he hummed and gestured for you to make your escape from the room. You squeeze his hand in what you hope conveys a ‘thank you’, and snatch up the toast before making a break for it.

Belphegor passes you on your way out of the dining hall. He shuffles into the room behind you mumbling a complaint about all the noise, but you’re grateful he makes no attempt to stop you.

You can hear Mammon erupting again and sigh as you make your way down the corridor to your room. Your shoulders slump as you reach your door.

_‘What the bloody hell am I going to do? Wrangling this lot into organising a prom, will be like that Jurassic park scene where they try to train velociraptors to take commands.’_

On top of that you’ve got your own insecurities surrounding the whole idea of a prom to contend with.

You close your door behind you. Leaning back against the door with a groan, you take a bite of toast and contemplate.

These next few weeks are going to be exhausting…


	2. Teatime Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'MC' should have known locking her door wouldn't get her solitude for long.  
> In the end, a cup of tea with Lucifer reveals more details of high school than she'd planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank those who were subjected to my multi-coloured idea threads, and voted for the red one. Now you get to see the context of what you contributed to - I hope you enjoy =^.^=
> 
> I might have gotten a little carried away with this one, so it's long (0_o)

You finally make it back from what felt like the longest day of your life at R.A.D, and hastily lock your bedroom door before heavily placing your book bag onto your desk with a sigh.

You had spent most of the day fielding away questions about Proms from various excited demons.

You had entirely forgotten how exhausting extroverts could be, and suddenly swelled with a new appreciation for the quietness of the office you worked in back in your realm. Few people, pleasant conversation with no awkward questions, and the faint hum of the radio as you typed away. You never thought you’d miss that.

You switch the water vase on your tea station to hot with a wave of your hand, and marvel at it as it begins to boil instantly. Despite all the things in the Devildom that are similar to home and comforting, it was little things like this that make you glad there are also differences, such subtle use of magic was endlessly convenient.

You wistfully stare out of your window for a moment or two before flopping into a chair.

But, as soon as the back of your legs hit the seat you hear your doorknob rattle harshly. Without waiting for your answer from within the room, Mammon shouts through the wood at you, “Hey you! Ya gotta help me with this assignment.”

You groan.

He continues, “When are ya gonna come out huh? what's the idea locking me out!?”.

You yell back through the door, refusing to move from your resting spot, “I'm taking a shower.”.

“No. You're not.”, he was obviously ignoring your excuses, “You’re not even in the bathroom yet. You’re not taking a shower. I can hear ya!”.

“Well I'm about to! Leave me alone for a bit. I promise I'll come and help you later, okay?”. You weren’t lying, you needed that shower to refresh you after the way today had gone, but you already regretted promising you’ll help him.

You heard a small thud on the door then a brief silence before he called back, “Yeah fine, whatever. Not like I’m in a rush to see ya anyway. Stupid human.”, there was another pause.

You glare at the door. _‘If I had lasers in my eyes like superman, I could just zap him through the door. That’d teach him.’_ Your death glaring at the poor door is interrupted again, “I'll see you later don't forget to bring some of your human world chocolate… It helps me think.”. Then you hear his footsteps pad away from your door.

You roll your eyes, but you know he could have simply broken down the door if he chose. It feels nice to see that he respects the boundaries of you having locked it, and you’re grateful for the small reprieve. That shower, however, could wait until after your tea.

Listening to a small whistle, you notice a little devil has joined you, and he tapped impatiently at your water vase. You pat him gently on the head, “Thank you for reminding me this has been boiling for too long.”.

The little guy looks up at you when you touch the vase to stop it boiling, with what you assume is supposed to be a toothy grin. You tickle him under the chin briefly before ushering him back out of your window. You had gotten used to their little appearances around you, perfect dark little helpers, they remind you of the energy of that old meme of a black kitten wearing bat wings, _‘So cute!’_.

Pouring the water onto some tea leaves in a pot, you hear another interruption in the hallway. This time though there is no attempt to turn your doorknob, instead there is a sharp knocking against the wood of your door.

You briefly empathise with your poor door before registering the sound. _‘Great . That's Lucifer, he's the only one who bothers to knock and actually wait for a response first._ ’.

Deciding quickly that it's probably best to not anger the eldest after your conversation at breakfast this morning, you hastily walk to your door and unlock it. As you open it you see his concerned face looking down at you.

You look back at him puzzled. You’re about to question what is wrong, when he puts his hand on your shoulder, “’MC’, what was that display at breakfast about this morning? If I didn't know any better, I would say you were responding out of fear.”. His Crimson gaze settles on your face again like it had this morning.

You stare at him dumbfounded. _‘Is this why he wasn't angry with you this morning? Does he think you're frightened? Since when, has sensing fear in someone else ever made Lucifer feel concern instead of anger?’_

Leaving the silence to settle around you both, he removes his hand and gently nudges past you into your room.

You’re confused and your mind begins to whirl. _‘Is this a trick to placate you? He’s thinking how best to punish me. What have I even done wrong this week?’_. The only thing you’re certain of, is that he did push past **gently**. And, the fact alone unnerved you… but then he was still silent too.

Still unsure how to respond, you instead gesture towards the tea station. “Would you like a cup of tea? Little D's just kindly reminded me that the water has boiled.”, a nervous smile crosses your face.

Lucifer raised a brow and looked at the station as if deciding if he wanted to allow you the distraction. He turned back and looked you up and down, then reached over your head to close the door behind you. He continued to lean over you, resting against it as it clicked shut.

_‘Oh gods, he really was annoyed under that calm expression, and he’s gonna kill me.’_ You swallow slowly and regard him carefully. But, those butterflies forming in your stomach aren’t fear, it’s anticipation. _‘He’s so handsome, and **damn** I can feel how warm he is this close. Great, now I’m going to die horny. How insulting.’_.

“Yes.” It takes more effort than you’d like to admit, to not jump when he finally answers, and when he makes no effort to move away from you, you have to concentrate on not raising a hand to touch his chest.

“I think that would be nice.” His eyes narrow thoughtfully, and a half smile crosses his lips. He dips towards you, and you have a minor heart attack as the distance closes between you.

And then…

Then he was gone.

You flush furiously as he moves toward the table and you realise, he had only been dipping his elbow in order to push himself back up away from you. _‘Oh my gods! You are a fucking tit. What did you think was about to happen? Ugh.’_

Despite this, you sigh, relieved that you weren’t in fact going to die. Yet, at least. After carefully retreating back to the tea station, you start to set up a couple of cups for the tea.

Your relief is short lived though. Lucifer had taken a seat facing you and was now staring at you while you moved around. His eyes on you kept that damn flush on your cheeks. “’MC’, again, would you please care to explain to me why the prom discussion had you so agitated this morning?”.

_‘Ugh, he isn’t going to drop this.’._

You're grateful for the opportunity to turn your back to him as you empty the tea pot into your cups, now your cheeks could cool. You concede though, that not answering him for a second time inside five minutes was probably a bad plan. “I just… I just don't have fond memories of them that's all”.

_‘There, you did it. That was a decent answer. **Wasn’t it?** ’_. You scrunch your nose shutting your eyes to curse yourself, that won’t be enough of an answer and you know it.

Begrudgingly turning to face the table, you place the cups delicately onto mats for the two of you.

“Really?”, he questioned, swirling the tea around in his cup he stared at you. “Simeon’s accounts suggest that those occasions are full of joy. A celebration of a new stage of your life approaching even?”

Lucifer speaks slowly, and you shrug before carefully taking a seat opposite him.

“Simeon’s not wrong. Most people enjoy them very much. But it's not for everybody.”

You take a sip of your tea to distract yourself from him watching you speak. Hugging the cup like a miniature shield.

“Something he probably didn't see though, was hundreds of teenagers every year, who couldn't think of anything that they want less in the whole world… than being forced to spend an evening with extroverted, hyperactive cheerleaders, fawning over there quarterback boyfriends.”, a mild look of disgust sneaks its way onto your face as you expand on the thought.

Lucifer’s expression shifted, “How would someone have a quarter of a back?” he questioned frankly.

Against your better judgment you giggled, making his gaze sour.

You take another quick sip of your tea, trying to suppress your giggles before explaining, “A quarterback is a named playing position in American football. I'm surprised you don’t know what this is.”. You tilt your head at him, you know your eyes are probably twinkling mischief, but you’re too amused to try and hide it.

He follows your lead and drinks a little more tea before placing his empty cup back down on the table, you’re not quite sure how he managed to finish it so quickly.

“Well”, he also tilted his head to the side mimicking you. “I'm not exactly a physical sport kind of demon, that's more Beel’s thing. However, I'm glad you apparently seem to be in better spirits. Even if it is thanks to a gap in my knowledge.”. He smiled brightly at you. A heart stopping dazzling smile.

Heart doing somersaults, you stare into your teacup. Vaguely hoping that lack of eye contact and silence will make him continue talking. At least while he's talking, he can't direct that smile at you. You’re not sure what it is about these brothers but it's so easy for them to melt you. _‘It should be illegal for so many men living in the same house to all have such alluring presence, and ravishing smiles’._

Silence isn’t awkward with Lucifer, but as it drags on, you swear you can hear your own blood rushing around your veins, and it’s making you feel uncomfortably hot. It occurs to you that he is probably dragging it out intentionally so you will trip over yourself _. ‘Who was that guy that said, if you want someone to confess your best weapon is silence, eventually they will fill the gaps for you? Whoever he was, he’s bloody right, and I’m not falling for it’._

He finally relieves you of that thought as he moves to his feet.

“I can understand why introverted people might not want to be at a busy and noisy party, Leviathan after all is one of my brothers.”, he rubbed his fingers along the bridge of his nose as though the thought alone irritated him. “There is more to it than that for you. I don't know what happened to you in the human world when you had this prom of yours. I would like to think though, that if it concerns you that much, you **will** elaborate for me before the date.”.

That sounded soft enough, but you knew in your bones that that was a command and not a suggestion. A sentiment reinforced by his stern gaze, as he walks around the table to stand beside your chair.

You look up at him suddenly feeling very small in your seated position, there is an urge to join him by standing, but you're also very aware of just how close to him that would put you. You decide it’s best to stay still, and hide your face in your teacup once more as you take another sip.

Lucifer continues to focus his eyes on you.

You take another sip.

He does not waiver.

Your face grimaces as you accidentally clunk the cup loudly when you set it down, embarrassed that your hands aren’t as steady as you’d thought. You drop your hands into your lap and you try to smile reassuringly.

“Big events like that have a way of causing insecurities to be front and centre for people like me.”

_‘Wait…why is your mouth moving? This isn’t the plan… You’re not supposed to fall for it.’_ Your cheeks redden again, and you drop your gaze to the floor in hopes of hiding it.

“I never really fitted in at high school. I never really made friends with any of the people that would have ever been considered for prom King and Queen.”, you shrug talking at the floor. You have no idea why you’re letting him know this. “To be honest I'm not sure I ever really made friends with **anyone** at high school at all. It's easy to feel ostracised at a party, when you know no one there would care if you even arrived or not.”. You spoke deliberately and carefully instead now.

_‘Wow, that hurts to say out loud.’_ There is a stinging behind your eyes, and you stare at the floor intently, willing it not to spill over into tears.

  
Lucifer was still looking down at you, but the sternness had been replaced by a quiet patience as you had slowly tried to form sentences out of the feelings surrounding your youth.

You're shocked when he chooses this moment to kneel in front of you.

Eyes wide, you stare at him. A giddy part of you inside makes a mental note _, ‘Holy shit!’_. You can't imagine there are many people in thousands of years that have **ever** seen Lucifer kneel, _‘Has he ever even done this before? I didn’t think he **knew how** to kneel – mental photograph taken’._

Your hands are shaking when he places a gloved hand over yours in your lap, and despite the fabric you can still feel the warmth of him.

_‘That gorgeous warmth.’._

_‘Oh my gods stop it! You’re not 16!’_ You school your features into what you hope is a calm expression.

“I can assure you, that not a single person in attendance of Diavolo's prom, would ever state they do not care for your presence.”, Lucifer declares. “Perhaps this is a perfect opportunity, for you to actually feel the joy that these Proms are supposed to create.”. He squeezes your hand a little.

Those damned tears are pricking at the front of your eyes now, and you’re certain some are about to escape.

He stands quickly, and a part of you mourns the loss of proximity instantly, it had been a comfort you didn’t know you needed until now. You're not sure if you just dreamed that part of your day, but before you can process any of this, he makes his way towards the door.

A thought must have crossed his mind however, and he turns back to address you before leaving. “This conversation aside… Lord Diavolo has charged us with organising this prom, and like it or not, that's what we're going to do.”.

The usual steel had returned to his gaze, he gives you a curt nod before exiting, and quietly closes the door behind him.

“Well… that was short lived.”, you sigh a loud, eyes decidedly damp now as you stand to collect the teacups from the table. Placing them on the tea station, you gently press the balls of your hands to your eyes to make them behave themselves. Taking a few long slow breaths to calm yourself.

You've barely turned to walk away from it, when the little D springs back through your window to collect the dirty crockery. He makes what you hope are excited, rather than irritated, chirpy noises before disappearing again. _‘That little guys going about his day and I guess I should too.’_.

You trudge into your bathroom and tie your hair back in a lose braid. After quickly undressing you step into the shower, with your hair pulled over your shoulder in front of you to keep it dry. You certainly aren't about to meet Mammon in the common room with wet hair. You might feel like crap, but you’ll be damned if you’ll let it show again today.

_‘Ohhh. Hello sweet release’_ , the warm water hits you, and you relish the feeling of it relaxing your back muscles, you had no idea you’d been tensing your shoulders so tightly.

You contemplate what Lucifer had to say.

_‘Perhaps he is right? Perhaps this time it will be more enjoyable. Maybe, just maybe…this could work’._

Stubbornly you make a resolution to yourself, you would take this opportunity to make it your mission that **nobody** gets left out of this party.


	3. Laughter and Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers provide a much needed, lighthearted distraction, before MC gets Mammon to knuckle down with his assignment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up for those who need to know, there is a small amount of non-consensual touching here, it's not intended to be sexual in nature.  
> There is also a small amount of violence - could be considered typical behavior for a house full of boisterous boys I guess.

When you enter the common room, Mammon is already sprawled across a sofa with his legs lazily draped over its arm. Slowly bobbing one ankle as he stares intensely at his D.D.D.

He is dressed in his casual clothes and you still have no idea why he wears that jacket indoors… even if it does make him look hot.

He hasn’t noticed you, you assume he is plotting some scheme. You pad lightly closer to him, to see his screen from behind the sofa, unsurprisingly it’s open to Akuzon. You roll your eyes.

 _‘If he put half this much effort into his studies, he’d be a genius.’_. For a second you wonder if Lucifer’s voice had sneaked inside your head, but the thought reminds you why you’re here in the first place and you glance at the coffee table in front of him… There’s no sign of any textbooks.

Mammon is still absorbed in his shopping and hasn’t noticed you. So, you crouch, slowly leaning over the arm of the sofa towards his head.

“ ** _WHERE_** is your assignment Mammon!?”, your arms are crossed in mock annoyance as you snap out the words next to his ear.

He reminds you of a cat clawing at a ceiling, when he jumps to a seated position, but ends up clawing at the sofa in a failed attempt to stop himself unceremoniously thudding onto the floor.

A faint chuckling can be heard above Mammon’s spluttering, and it draws your attention to the sofa across the room, where Satan is sitting neatly, with the book he’d been reading now resting in his lap. You wink at him, as you rise back to your feet.

You swear you see a faint pink tint to his face as he quickly collects his book and returns to his reading.

“Holy Fuck! What’d you do that for!? Scared the shit out of me, thought you were Lucifer.”, Mammon is seething on the floor, and you reach your hand out to help him up, with a pang of guilt. _‘Still funny though.’._

He grabs your hand, but immediately flushes.

“Not that I’m specifically scared of Lucifer. Don’t think that was it, because I’m not”, He hauls himself up with your help. “And… I wasn’t scared. Ya jus’ surprised me that’s all.”. He straightens his jacket and repositions his glasses on top of his head resolutely.

_‘He’s so unbelievably cute when he is flustered.’_

“Making an innocent guy jump out of his skin like that.”, he complained.

“You’re lucky you’re you… I could have eaten you alive”, he waved his hands and flopped back onto the sofa. _‘Lucky you think I’m cute you mean.’_

Manspreading, that’s what that positioning had been coined as back home. You hated the term, but honestly, it’s exactly what he was doing… One arm lazily spread across the back of the sofa and knees spread apart, as if they were opposite poles of a magnet.

You weren’t going to be able to sit down without brushing against him, you’re not sure you minded though.

“Oi. Ya listenin’?”, he waved a hand in front of your face.

“Yes, yes.”, you giggle reaching for a cushion to swat him with. “Only surprised you… You’re not scared of Lucifer… I’ll be lucky if you eat me... I know.”, you summarise for him in mock repetition.

He gawps at you as you swat at him again, but scurries to drag the cushion from your hands, pulling you down to the sofa too. You collapse next to him, laughter ringing around the common room like chimes.

“Oh, am I missing a tickle session?” Asmo had appeared while you were distracted and was now trailing his fingers along the back of the sofa behind you.

You immediately shuffle away using the cushion for protection, and screw your eyes shut tightly as he follows you, “Absolutely not! Don’t you dare!”.

A hand touches your side and you shriek, curling up in a ball.

Your heart is thumping into your chest, tickling scares you. You don’t like that it just reduces you to mush, and all you can do is hope people take mercy when you can’t breathe from laughing, never mind being able to think about moving away. But, despite that, there’s also something alluring about it. You can never quite bring yourself around to taking actual distancing measures, to get yourself out of it before anyone has even touched you.

Your skin erupts in goose bumps, you giggle in an embarrassingly childlike rattle as the addition of a second hand causes you to wriggle. “No. Nooo, stop it.”, you feebly chuckle out between deep breaths.

You knew pleas laced in giggles wouldn’t work; it never did in these situations. Anyway, you realise, you probably didn’t even want to get out of his grip in the first place.

The sensation stops so suddenly it makes you dizzy, and you see a flash of white pass your eyes as you heave in a couple of breaths to still your poor heart.

There is a crashing sound.

It snaps your brain out of its laughter induced fog and you shoot to your feet in panic, lurching slightly from a head rush.

“BOTH OF YOU STOP!”, you yell without even getting a chance to take in the scene in front of you properly. There is a quiet fizz of magic around you.

Both demons were in their demon forms, and Mammon had pinned Asmo to the floor by his shoulders, bearing down on him aggressively. That was where they both froze from your command – although it didn’t stop the angry glare coming from Asmo.

He actually looked really intimidating like that. With his usual honeyed demeanour, it was all too easy to forget that Asmo was one of the most powerful demons in the devildom.

For a moment all you can do is drink in his appearance. _‘If I looked like that, I’d have endless confidence too.’._

The start of a slow clapping behind you makes you jump, and you whirl around to see Belphie rubbing an eye as he yawned.

“You’re getting better at that.”, he mumbled, “Look, they still can’t move yet.” He smirked as he gestured towards his brothers.

“Where the fuck did **you** come from?” you snapped at him, irritated by his amusement.

Unphased, he yawned again, “I’ve been here all evening. And, I **was** sleeping, until you lot **rudely** interrupted a nice dream.”.

Satan’s voice draws your attention away from the youngest, “He is right. You might even have to rescind the command to let them back up.” His hand is on his chin as he appraises the pile of demon on the floor between you.

You can feel Mammon and Asmo bristling, and it prickles at your own irritation too.

You point at Satan accusingly, “Why didn’t you intervene? They could have really hurt each other. And you… **just** **sat** there!”, you finished with exasperation.

He looked surprised, but he quickly regained his nonchalant smile, “Firstly – It’s not my place to baby sit Mammon. Secondly – It’s just a tussle, they’ll get over it.”.

_‘Oh yeah sure, babysit Mammon, like it wasn’t Asmo who started things.’_

There is an irritated sound from the floor, and you realise that the brothers had parted and are stiffly rolling their joints slowly to restore movement.

“Tussle! Humph. It would have hardly stayed that way if this idiot damaged my beautiful wings.” Asmo was checking over his wings carefully, flicking them back and forth.

You were staring at the intricate structure of each wing as he padded his fingers along them. You were aware that you were staring, you realised others could probably see you staring too, but you couldn’t stop, and a warm pink dusted your cheeks.

He caught your gaze, and his annoyance quickly melted until his eyes were soft molten rose gold on you. “Party pooper.”. He pouted, but his eyes remained far from sulky, and it made a warmth settle in your stomach.

“Whatever. Just be quiet.”, Belphie huffed, taking over your previous spot on the sofa and laying out along it with his pillow.

Mammon was grumbling as he stood up, “Don’t act like you didn’t deserve that! She said no.”

Asmo’s death glare made another brief flash towards his brother, but it was quickly hidden away. “I can feel _desire_ , **idiot**. She didn’t mind.”

“Oh yeah? Doesn’t matter… no one touches ‘MC’ unless she says so.” The older retorted irritably. _‘Sure. More like unless **you** say so’. _You curse yourself for the thought before it’s even finished forming, and you felt mean. He probably did mean what he said, and it was adorable of him to protect you like that.

“Fair point.” Asmo shrugged, and Mammon looked confused.

You don’t think he is used to having such easy agreement from any of his brothers.

“’MC’, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t do that again.”, the lust demon was now on his feet too, smoothing out his clothes as he approached you.

“Unless of course…”, he dropped his head so his cheek was next to yours, you could feel his breath on your skin, “… You’re all hot under the collar like that again, and you want me to do it.”. You shivered as the sound of his voice, so close to your ear, reverberated deliciously on all your nerve endings. _‘Gods! His voice feels like velvet. How does he **do** that?’._

Asmo straightens and gives you one of his dazzling smiles. _‘And fuck me, those damn smiles. Ugh… why do they all have those disarming smiles?’._

He glimmers back to his casual clothes before dramatically flouncing into a chair. You seriously consider following him, and placing yourself across his lap, but your fully aware that that would cause another quarrel that you’d rather avoid.

So, reluctantly, you tore your gaze away from him and focused yourself back to Mammon.

“Well, now that that’s finished. Where is this stupid assignment?”. You settle onto the far sofa next to Satan, while you wait for Mammon to also glimmer back to his casual clothes.

You watch him moving the coffee table back into its rightful place as he answers you, “Eh. Well, I left the textbooks back in my room. I don’t remember.”. He smiled at you sheepishly.

You placed an unamused look onto your features and tapped your foot against the floor. “I, Ugh, um… it was for poisons and herbs 101, maybe on, umm… gold?”, He raised his arm and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly trying to avoid your gaze.

“An abstract study of alchemy during the human age.”, Satan interjected with a sigh.

You couldn’t resist giggling again, “So, the **gold** bit is right at least. That seems to be what most medieval alchemists were trying to make anyway.”, you shrug.

Mammon’s eyes glitter as he smiles, “Wait. Wait, is that right? Humans can **make** gold?”.

You don’t have the heart to tell him ‘no’, in this moment with him looking at you like that, you felt like it would be akin to kicking a puppy.

“Let me take a look at the assignment outline first, and then I’ll tell you.”, you grin back, and he’s gone in an instant from the room. Presumably to collect his textbooks. He could move quicker than any of the brothers, and it always took you by surprise when he shot off like that. 

You’re glad it’s Friday, you know this one is going to be hard to keep his attention on, it will likely keep you here most of the night.

“Altruistic as ever.”, Belphie grumbles at you from underneath his pillow.

Asmo lets out a warm chuckle and casts a deliberate appraisal over your body, “Of course she’s altruistic! Her soul wouldn’t be so temptingly shiny otherwise. So precious.”.

He winks at you as he tucks his knees up under his chin, curling into his seat with a thoughtful look on his face, but he chooses not to share whatever it is that he is thinking.

Mammon re-enters the room with a flourish of glory, brandishing his assignment materials like trophies.

He squeezes himself onto the end of the sofa beside you and spreads the books out on the coffee table, “Let’s get to learning about this gold making then huh?”.

_‘He’s so adorable when he’s excited. Is this even cuter than when he’s flustered?’_

You absentmindedly boop his nose with your finger as you correct him, “Turning lead to gold no less.”.

He swats your hand away, “Hey, quit treating’ me like a child would ya?”. He pauses. “But, lead. Really?”

You laugh again and ruffle his hair, “Hmm, really really. Now come on Mr. grown up, let’s get going on this.”.

You could feel Satan roll his eyes at you both from behind his book, but you don’t care.

Tonight is going to be a long night, and you are going to find ways to lighten it and enjoy it where you can.

Sometime in the next couple of days, you’d have to thank them for giving you a distraction, making you smile… and not asking any stupid prom related questions.

* * *

Belphie padded into the kitchen and nodded a greeting to Beel, who only momentarily looked up from the fridge to check the identity of the new arrival.

He walked past his twin and rummaged in a cupboard for camomile tea. “’MC’ has been dragged into helping Mammon again.”. He sighed over his shoulder.

Beel swung the fridge door closed with his foot while his arms were full of food. “Yeah? What this time?”, he mumbled around a piece of bat jerky he was chewing.

Belphie turned to face his brother, tea leaves victoriously in his hand, “Human Alchemy… He lost interest when he realised, that they never **actually** managed to make gold.”.

He leaned against the counter behind him musingly, “She had to bribe him with chocolate to make him keep studying. I don’t know why she doesn’t just use the pact to make him concentrate… Oh yeah! You should have seen her break up a fight between him and Asmo!”. Belphie was chuckling to himself now as he made his tea.

Beel raised an eyebrow, “Asmo? Really?”, the avatar of gluttony was now a perfect reflection of his sin, seated at the table with a mound of food in front of him as he questioned his brother.

“Hmm, yeah… I like him better when he loses his temper.”, a smile quirked the edges of Belphie’s mouth as he sipped lazily at his fresh tea.

“I should remember to thank him for tickling her though…that **laughter**. It does stuff to you, you know? It’s like celestial bells… As if she wasn’t already hard enough to resist.”, he grumbled as he padded back out of the room, leaving Beel to his midnight feast, and imaginings of their human acting so irresistibly pure.


	4. A Lazy Saturday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being woken in the early hours by flurry of messages, MC steals the opportunity to snuggle back into bed and is woken with a brunch delivery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can never over state the level of comfort received from cwtching in a blanket nest. 
> 
> Cwtch - in it's simplest meaning is a Welsh word for a hug, or small cupboard or hiding place. It's used to imply a sense of belonging, comfort and security. It's special, and full of love.

You wake up with a groan as your D.D.D. shouts out a flurry of notifications.

Blearily opening your eyes slowly, you focus in on the coffee table, and a messy pile of texts strewn in front of you. _‘Ugh, when did I fall asleep?’,_ you definitely remember trying to coerce Mammon into concentrating on the assignment conclusion around midnight.

The notification sounds keep beeping away at you.

Your shoulders, and back, ache from half sitting and half laying on the sofa. You roll them to work out the knots and feel a weight in your lap shift as you do so. Mammon had apparently fallen asleep in your lap and now lay across your legs with one of his arms dangling down to the floor.

You sigh and pry your D.D.D. from your pocket, squinting at the screen to see the time: Saturday 05:00. _‘Ugh, what has set them all off this early?’_.

Sleepily you unlock the device to check the unread messages that were still being added to.

* * *

**House of Lamentation (New)(8)**

**Lucifer:** Meeting to discuss necessities for Mid-season Prom, Today 19:00 sharp, in the common room.

 **Lucifer:** I expect everyone to attend.

 **Asmodeus:** ヾ( •́д•̀ ;)ﾉ

 **Asmodeus:** What?

 **Asmodeus:** On a Saturday night? It’ll stop me getting to the club, my admirers will be so distraught.

 **Beelzebub:** There will be snacks at this meeting, right?

 **Beelzebub:** Wait…Is there food at Proms?

 **Asmodeus:** Obviously there will be food. It’s a party!

 **Leviathan:** Can’t, I have a raid.

 **Leviathan:** (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

 **Leviathan:** We activated an ultra-rare item drop, boss raid. It’s going to be EPIC!!!

 **Beelzebub:** I don’t know what that means.

 **Beelzebub:** Belphie is asleep right now, but I’ll bring him along later.

 **Satan:** Speaking of sleep – Why are you all awake so early?

 **Satan:** Can’t this wait until a more reasonable hour?

 **Asmodeus:** Morning skincare. Of course.

 **Leviathan:** Sleep is for the weak, it’s still Friday if I haven’t slept yet.

 **Lucifer:** No Exceptions. Everyone is to attend.

 **Leviathan:** That’s so not fair.

 **Leviathan:** You can’t pause online games you know.

 **Lucifer:** NOT

 **Lucifer:** NEGOTIABLE

* * *

Flopping your arm back down to the sofa, you scrunch your eyes shut and curse before rubbing them gently to wake yourself up.

Mammon shifted again, and you debated whether you wanted to wake him or not.

On one hand – he is like a cherub sleeping there without any stress or cares on his face. His hair was dishevelled and so were his clothes, but the handsome profile of his face was clear as day. On the other - Your neck hurts and you want to sneak off back to your own bed.

It’s early enough that you could fit in a couple hours sleep before needing to get on with your day.

If you’re lucky you can sleep all morning and avoid any prom nonsense until this evening. Maybe you’d avoid breakfast all together and get a simple brunch in the kitchen with Beel.

The choice is taken out of your hands however, when Mammon’s D.D.D. starts to ring. You’re not sure why, but you feel disappointment flow over you, like that one wave at the beach that’s always deeper than you’d expected.

He jumps upright and almost drops the offending object in a rush to answer it.

He’s already talking smoothly to the person on the other end before he notices you. He flushes instantly, but only faulters for a second in his conversation, as his eyes take in the scene around you both.

You wait patiently for the call to end. Now that you're free to move without disturbing him, you lean forward to collect the textbooks and assignment papers into a neat pile, so as to be more easily carried away later.

When the call ends, he nudges your shoulder playfully, “Mornin’ human. You must have had the best sleep ever knowing the great Mammon was here keeping you safe.”.

“Yeah, while he snored.” You retort rolling your eyes.

He feigns offence and covers his mouth with his hand to hide a smirk, “I don’t snore. And, ya know it.”.

He stands, straightens his clothes, and loosens his joints a bit before leaning down to scoop up the papers you’d piled for him.

“Anyway, I gotta go. That was Majolish, they want me for an impromptu shoot this morning.”, He beams at you. Then he softens; while his eyes are still gazing at yours, he tips his head to the side, “And…Umm, Thanks for the help with this, but, uh, I ain’t got nothing for ya.”.

The thanks surprises you and you smile widely, he can be sweet when he’s the only one around. You let the praise settle in pleasantly, it makes you feel very cuddly. _‘Or maybe I’m just too sleepy to tease him?’_. 

“No worries. Just glad that assignment is out of our way.”, you eventually say with a contented sigh.

You muse over an urge to stand and hug him, but Mammon is already turning to leave and is mostly out of the door when you remember about the meeting, “Oh yeah, check your messages! See you at 7!” you call out behind him as he disappears down the corridor.

The room falls silent again and you look around the peaceful space with awe. You’re glad that the other brothers had each gotten bored and left one by one last night, so that you could enjoy this moment of genuine solitude. Also, so that none of them would question why the two of you slept in here alone. Maybe it’s quieter in here than in your own room.

You consider taking a leaf out of Belphie’s book and looking for a secluded corner to nap in. But, your shoulders make an aching protest and the comfort of your bed calls out to you, as you stretch your arms over your head and yawn.

 _‘Definitely my own bed.’_ , you decide, taking one last look around the serene room wistfully.

The messages this morning prove that most of the brothers are awake already, so you gingerly make your way out of the room and down the corridor to your bedroom. The quicker you are, the more likely you can avoid any unnecessary conversations about how you spent the night… or about this evening’s meeting.

You’re not sure you could handle either topic until you’ve had coffee anyway. Or at least more sleep. Preferably more sleep, in a comfy bed.

You gratefully make it to your room uninterrupted, and immediately discard the previous evenings clothing along the floor as you feel like you’re crawling towards bed. You drag on some pyjama bottoms and a plain t-shirt, relishing the super soft feel of the brushed cotton material _. ‘So warm’_.

You momentarily mourn that there isn’t a random brother already hiding in here, so you won’t have someone to cwtch with. Then you remember how demanding and noisy they all are and think better of it.

Hoisting the blankets aside, you thud down onto the bed and drag a pillow down to cwtch up to instead. You’re enveloped in fluffy, cloud like comfort, as you turn yourself into a blanket burrito.

_‘If I die here, I don’t care… I’d die happy. Soooo cosy.’_ , is the last thought you remember in the comforting warmth before dropping off to sleep.

* * *

A faint thudding permeates your consciousness and your head aches, while you try to register the sound. _‘Where is that coming from?’._

As you slowly wake up, the sounds become clearer, your sleepy brain tells you that it’s actually a knocking. You ignore it, you’re smothered in delicious cuddly warmth, and you’re not willing to let it go.

Cwtching the blankets to you like a pillowy cocoon, you curl up into a foetal position, you’re sure this is the most comfortable you’ve been in your life. _‘Why is it always more comfortable when you’re waking, than trying to get to sleep?’,_ you muse about the age-old predicament, content in the darkness behind your own eyelids.

A deep, gentle voice calls your name and the knocking raps out again, you are too slow to register that it’s someone at your door, before it flies open with a thud against the wall behind it.

Finally, you snap into a fully awake consciousness. However, you’re still not willing to give up these blankets just yet. Squinting as your eyes adjust to the light, you watch the intruding figure delicately carrying trays into your room.

Beel carefully sets two large trays of food onto your table before turning to face you. “I’m sorry I woke you.”, he said shyly. He looked at the floor and wrung his hands together as he explained himself, “I was worried. You missed breakfast and lunch. So, I brought some to you instead.”.

You peer out at him from your blanket nest, he looks so precious there in his worried state, that food also looked very inviting and your stomach grumbled in agreement.

_‘But… I’m warm._ ’

He smiled at you as his stomach growled an agreement to yours. “Levi helped me pick out human food. He said this stuff is comforting.”.

A glance at your bedside alarm clock allowed you to note the time: [13:20]. Still not willing to surrender your warmth, you sit up dragging the blankets along with you. You watch him move around the table, displaying the different foods to you, as you arranged yourself against the wall with a pillow behind your back and the blankets drawn to your chin.

“Did anyone ever tell you you’re a star?”, you humm out at him, a wide smile lighting up your eyes too as he brings a slice of chocolate cake over to you. You could see from the plate that it was still warm, and the fudgy frosting was pooling around the sponge invitingly.

Beel blushed and looked away, holding the plate out for you to take, “Belphie told me you’d been stuck in the common room with Mammon all night, so I didn’t want to wake you too soon… but you still need to eat.”.

“Stuck isn’t exactly right.”, you gently correct as you take the plate and a fork, gratefully seizing the opportunity to take a large mouthful of the food. “Levi was right, this is comforting.”.

You’ve no idea where they found such indulgent chocolate fudge cake, but your heart is warm because they did it for you.

_‘Definitely not considered appropriate breakfast food… but it’s perfect, and anyone who says otherwise can fight me.’._

Beel seemed happier now that you are quickly finishing off the food on your plate.

He returned to the table to grab some mugs and a cafetière. He pours coffee from it into the mugs, adding milk and two sugars to yours, before taking the plate from you and handing you the magical liquid in its place.

_‘He couldn’t be any more endearing if he tried right now. I’m getting cavities just looking at him.’._ You knew none of the other brothers would have remembered how you take your coffee…sweet and milky, just like your adorable ginger companion. 

You couldn’t be more content, rolled up in your blankets holding onto your coffee, savouring its glorious scent.

Beel moved away from you again to pile snacks onto a plate for himself, “Belphie would be jealous of how comfortable you look right now.”, he flashed you a warm smile that made you want to swoon off into his arms. You settle instead, for calling him to the bed beside you with an enthusiastic wave of your hand.

He contentedly complies with the gesture. Beel doesn’t get under the blankets, but you can still feel his body heat as he carefully snuggles his weight onto the bed beside you, plate in one hand and coffee delicately balanced in the other.

Once he stops fidgeting to get comfortable you rest your head on his shoulder, still cradling your own coffee like a precious life-giving liquor.

“So… What did I miss at breakfast? I want all of the details.”.

You grin as he starts to rattle off details… Leviathan’s tantrum over needing to miss his raid, Belphie praising Asmo for helping you to relax last night, and Mammon missing breakfast all together, but, bustling into lunch with some human world items from Majolish that he is certain will help with the prom.

After recounting the days goings on, eating another 3 plates of food, and insisting you also eat some toast and fruit, Beel was finally satisfied that he’d completed his lunch time mission. You’d even unfurled yourself from your blanket fort.

“Thank you for looking after me this afternoon.”, you smile at him, reaching to place your empty mug on the nightstand. He shrugs, “I missed you at lunch.”, the confession rolled out from him easily and you knew it was genuine.

You lean forward to hug him; he smells like coffee and cake and you can’t resist giving him a squeeze too. He stiffens, but quickly wraps his arms around you and squeezes back gently, holding the weight of his arms as if frightened to crush a paper lantern.

Here in his embrace you feel comfortable, and warm… and safe? It even rivals your bed.

You know you can’t hold him there forever though and you take a mental snapshot of the affectionate demon engulfing you, before reluctantly releasing him and sliding from the bed to stand.

“Come on. I’ll help you get this lot washed up.”, collecting plates and trays together as you speak, he also stands to help you. “After all, we’re going to need them for the meeting tonight if you plan on snacks.”, you chuckle.

Beel grins at you, trays in one hand, he holds your door open, so that you can pass him with your own hands full of crockery to make your way out to the kitchen.


	5. Confidence: From one extreme to the other, in under an hour.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC gets an escort to the ball.. .erm, meeting, and rediscovers her joy for project managing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is insecurity displayed in this chapter. 
> 
> It also came a surprise to me when this chapter became less meeting, and more fluff.

After you’d cleaned up the kitchen with Beel, you’d spent most of the evening in your pyjamas.

Your room had been unusually quiet today. Other than a brief visit from Satan, who dropped off a book you’d asked to borrow, you’d been mercifully left to your own devices.

You’d had an opportunity to complete your homework tasks, and were now watching as the closing credits scrolled for a film that Levi had recommended: My wife was a fairy and I never knew, now she has died in a tragic accident, I have to save my children from their crazy grandparents and an errant gnome, who want to drag them away to the fairy realm and enslave them to the court.

It was a terrible film, it reminded you of cheesy B rate horror si-fi’s. But, you watched the whole thing regardless, once you’d started the film you felt invested in the handsome but hapless son.

Besides, it had helped to keep your mind busy so that you couldn’t get nervous about the first prom meeting.

_‘Well I just wasted 2 hours of my life I’ll never get back._ ’.

The story was mediocre and ultimately left you feeling like the ending for every character was wrong. You felt like you should be annoyed, but after such a slow day you couldn’t find it in you to care. At least it was funny in some parts.

You used the remote to flick off the TV’s power and discarded the pillows you’d been resting on as you stood.

_‘I suppose I’d better put on people appropriate clothes before the meeting.’_

If you’re going to survive this, you need to feel less like an anxiety ridden zombie, and at least look human before you even arrive. So, you hop into the shower, before pottering about with some light make up and half blow-drying your hair. Just enough to brush out without it looking damp.

When you re-enter your bedroom, still towel clad, you find Asmo perched on the edge of your bed waiting for you. He takes in your appearance and lights up, “Oh darling, if I’d known you were only going to be wearing a towel, I’d have joined you in the bathroom instead of waiting.”.

His voice was like butter, but you still felt a wave of heat come over you and regretted that the poor towel was hanging on for dear life over the expanse of your breasts.

Instinctively you reach to securely hold the small tuck of material that held it in place.

You’d developed large breasts early on and had often been teased… teenagers could be so cruel for the most mind boggling of reasons. Now you felt that familiar old tinge of shame, that made you wish they’d never grown at all. The towel would at least cover more that way, as it is, it was hiked up high from the round swell and barely covered your butt.

Which also made you feel a pang of embarrassment about your thick thighs being hardly graced by the edge of the material. In your mind you hear the voice of that PA in’ love actually’ talking to the prime minister: ‘I’d say there is a fairly sizable arse there, yes Sir. Huge thighs.’.

_‘Pfft. **Bitch**.’._

There was no sense of cruelty in the sparkle that tinted Asmo’s eyes as he purred on though, “Still, since my night out has been ruined, I figured I’d at least escort our very own fair maiden to the common room this evening.”.

“Fair maiden?”, you cringe at the suggestion. “Maybe I’d pass for a grouchy, kind of weird auntie.”. He frowns at you but decides not to dissuade you from your opinion. Instead he simply counters, “Well, your make up is beautifully simple and makes you glow… what are you going to wear to match it this evening?”.

“To the common room?... Jeans and a sweater.”, you raise an eyebrow at him as he frowns again.

“Come now, stop trying to irritate me… I’ll get wrinkles.”, he swishes his hand in front of his face dramatically, and you can’t help but smile. “At least put on one of your pretty blouses.”, he persists.

You know he isn’t going to relent.

“On one condition…”, you warn, swishing your own hand in front of your face too, “ **You** have to help me get the perfect dress for this prom. **And,** do my hair and makeup. I’m not good with these things, and it’s one less stress that I need.”.

You point at him for added resolve.

Finally, he smiles again, sweeping himself up off the bed. “I wouldn’t dream of **not** doing it, darling.”, he coos. Then he is next to you pulling you into an excited hug before you can protest. You stiffen, terrified for your poor towel.

He places a swift peck on your cheek before holding you at arm’s length with his hands resting on your shoulders.

Looking over your exposed skin with a grin he adds, “Shame, if I’d known that’s all the price was, I’d have bargained for you to just keep the towel instead.”. He adds his characteristic wink that was so often directed at you.

Heat rises to your face and you’re sure it’s colouring your neck too. Before you can voice a complaint, he is opening your wardrobe and searching for an appropriate blouse that satisfies his deal.

With your cheeks still furiously blushing, you accept the winning garment from him, grab a pair of jeans, and underwear from your draws and retreat to the bathroom to dress.

Much to Asmo’s disappointment. He mumbles a complaint about you being a spoil sport, but doesn’t attempt to follow you in.

When you emerge fully clothed, your would-be escort is sitting at your table and idly tapping away at his D.D.D.

“Perfect.” He elates as you slip on a simple pair of black pumps.

You must admit, the blouse he chose was a wonderful contrast to the light washed denim of your jeans, you’d never considered pairing them before. The shiny emerald green silk pillowed softly at your waist, where the jeans tucked it in and gave you great definition, you couldn’t deny that the shape made your butt look amazing.

Asmo insists on a selfie of the pair of you, before you are allowed to leave the confines of your room. With his elbow crooked, he extends his arm for you to place your hand into, “Shall we?”. He flashes you one of those gorgeous smiles of his as he guides you out of your own door.

No sooner are you out the door when the two of you bump into Satan. He almost chokes on some coffee he’d been trying to finish off while also reading and walking. He splutters an apologetic greeting, then takes up an awkward silence as he stares at you.

Under his observation, you have a brief internalised moment of panic, and nervously fuss with your sleeve cuffs.

“Nice of you to join us.”, Asmo crooned beside you, still smiling brightly.

Satan clears his throat and shoots his brother an accusatory look before addressing you. “I’m sorry ‘MC’, I should have been paying more attention to where I was going.”.

He smiles at you now, it’s reassuring, and like a beam of sunshine.

 _‘Oh gods, now he’s doing the smiling thing too.’_ , your heart swoons under the gaze of both brothers so closely, and all you can do is pray that Asmo doesn’t feel your body’s momentary sway.

You thank whatever deity had taken pity on your panicking form, as neither of them seemed to notice your floundering, and Satan even turns to signal the three of you to continue on your way down the corridor. Both men had taken their gazes from you as you walked, and you breathe a sigh of relief.

“By the way, I like your blouse this evening. Green looks good on you.”. Satan doesn’t look back to you, but you swear you can feel his energy trickle over you as he speaks.

You wonder if it’s possible to choke on your own tongue while standing upright, as the comment catches you off guard. Asmo chuckles and gently squeezes your hand in his arm. “Of course it looks good, I chose it,”, he preens with a cute shrug of one of his shoulders.

You give him a gentle squeeze back and smile, “Thank you. Asmo, is now my official personal stylist for all prom related duties.”, you chuckle too.

Satan takes an extra step to move a pace ahead of you and regards you both carefully, “Is that so? Well, I guess we will have to remember to thank him later.”. The three of you arrive at the entrance to the common room before you’re able to ask what he means, and he pushes the door open to usher you and your escort inside ahead of him.

Nothing could have prepared you for the chaos that greets you as you enter the room.

All the available surfaces are covered in stuff, some with food, others with random items. The chatter from the already assembled brothers was clamorous too.

So much for the peaceful room you had lamented over leaving this morning.

Beel, predictably, was seated nearest the table containing food, and observing goings on as he ate.

Mammon was stood and loudly proclaiming that he was obviously the right person to be lead planner, since he’d already gotten a head start on helping.

You’re surprised that Belphie was seated upright, but he still held his pillow tightly to his chest and was scoffing that Mammon should never be aloud to be a lead in anything.

Levi sat at the opposite end of the room, trying hard to ignore them while staring into the screen of his D.D.D.

Lucifer had seated himself near to an a-frame holding a flip chart, and Satan was now moving to take a seat nearby.

Wait… a flip chart? ‘Where the fuck did that come from?’.

You stared at it with a confused expression, it might seem to be an innocent object, but you could swear you haven’t seen a single one since arriving in the Devildom. “Taking the meeting seriously I see.”, you jest while gesturing to the chart.

The room stilled.

_‘Oohhh shit.’_

Speaking had been a bad decision, now all the brothers were watching you and you felt incredibly shy under their intense scrutiny.

Leviathan made a strangled noise, which caused your head to snap in his direction. His face was intensely red, and he was desperately trying to cover it with his arm without looking obvious.

“Uh, ok. I’ll umm, just sit here and be quiet. Please, continue.” You smile awkwardly, edging towards the last empty sofa. Asmo gently guides you down to sit next to him there. The whole room was still watching you and you considered using him as a shield to hide behind.

Lucifer cleared his throat, which thankfully dragged the attention of his brothers away from you. You slumped back into the sofa leaning against Asmo meekly.

“I appreciate that no one was late.”, he began, “Now… Today’s meeting needs to address what areas we need to cover in planning for the first Devildom prom, and how we can divide them between us to ensure they get done effectively.”.

The room sprang to life again, with a mixture of complaints about the meeting time, and ideas for what each believed a good party should include.

Ignoring the noise around you, Beel leaned over and passed you some devil candy, “You look very pretty.” He whispered and smiled sweetly at you. Then quickly straightened back up when Lucifer called your name.

“’MC’, would you like to get us started with a brief explanation of what a prom usually is?”, his voice is clear above the others, and they all fall silent before he is done talking.

You wish a pit would open under you, as one by one, each brother shifts their expectant gazes back to you. All you can concentrate on is that damn flip chart. It stared at you like it was waiting for you to launch into a shark tank presentation.

“I’m sorry.”, you stammer and gesture back to the object, “But… where did that come from? I haven’t seen one here before. It seems a bit excessive.”.

“I found it.”, Mammon beams as he settles himself onto the floor near to the sofa you’re sat on.

“You ‘found’ it?”, your question floats in the air while he starts to get flustered.

“Look, it’s a present for ya… don’t be questioning where I get stuff.”, He scowls briefly. “Majolish told me you guys use these to guide meetings and make plans and stuff. Thought it’d be helpful for ya. You know… to keep an eye on the party planning.”.

At this point you’re certain he stole it. It briefly crosses your mind that there must be a random office back home in the human world, trying to figure out why the hell anyone would steal one of these, of all things.

You had experienced lots of random things being stolen from your workplaces before, and you can just imagine how your old boss would be ranting… about ’fucking moron cretins’ who aren’t even smart enough to steal anything of value.

You can’t hold back and start to laugh.

The sound causes a mixture of reactions around you, most of which involve some form of confusion laced with a blush, or a sliding of their eyes to the floor in some sort of embarrassment. But you don’t notice.

You dart forward and hug Mammon’s shoulders from behind. He has no idea why you’re laughing and is stubbornly refusing to allow you to see the look on his face, as you continue to chuckle against his back.

“Thank you! It’s the weirdest gift I’ve ever received… but it’s thoughtful and I love it!” You exclaim happily and give him a firm squeeze. Then you rise to your feet and are amused to find a single blue marker in the tray of the frame.

You take it, and steel yourself to begin the explanations.

“So, proms… They usually happen in the senior year of a school. Right before all the pupils graduate out into the real world. There is usually a committee who choose and organise a theme, but regardless of what is chosen the following points to be organised always stay the same.”.

You start off confidently, briefly outlining the four main points of a good theme: Dress code, matching decorations, good food, and suitable music. You sneak a look around the room, most of the brothers had interested expressions, or at least a smile on their face.

_‘Funny how this lot can inspire confidence in me like this.’._

It’s like you’d slipped right back into professional mode, and you wondered if being a workaholic for years could actually be thanked for your smooth delivery. 

You also make sure to write each point in a bubble on the board, with room to expand ideas around them. The thought of bringing it was super sweet and you wanted to make sure Mammon knew you appreciated it.

The brothers watched you carefully, listening to what you explained, and adding plenty of ideas to fill the space around each point on the chart.

You can’t possibly use them all. You know this, but it keeps them all engaged and feeling like their opinions have been counted. That was what mattered if this was going to be a success. You could always streamline the lists and ideas later.

Lucifer even looked faintly impressed.

You smile broadly as you help them define Ideas, and oddly feel warm as you put your management skills to the test with them. You took a moment to consider, that maybe this could be your project, instead of a prom you are begrudgingly required to attend.

You knew project management; it was familiar, and the comforting feeling pushed out some of your anxieties.

_‘I guess sometimes, it’s all about perspective’_.

Tonight, was going to be more fun than you’d imagined, even if you were fielding off a chaotic energy from everyone.


	6. Meeting Adjourned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conversation turns to themes, and it's only now that MC realises teen-movies are problematic at best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who need to know, MC has some pretty scathing personal thoughts about popular culture here, and religion is also briefly mentioned.

You stand admiring the flip chart with a sense of satisfaction. Four bubbles containing your main issues had been absolutely covered in writing. It looked like an explosion of ideas and you felt like the meeting was flowing more creatively than most you’d ever been in.

The fact that all of this had poured from the mouths of seven demons, who knew next to nothing about this weird human right of passage, only served to make it even more impressive.

_‘It’s beautiful’_. You think triumphantly, while striking a line under the final point at the bottom of the board: Theme.

You spin back to face your captive audience and smile widely, “Right, so, all of these ideas are awesome… but which ones we can use, and which we sadly need to sacrifice will all depend on the theme we choose.”.

“Why can’t we just use ‘em all?”, Mammon asks. Judging by the look on his face he genuinely didn’t understand why not either.

Belphie rolls his eyes, “Because that’ll be chaos, moron.”. You shoot him a frustrated look. _‘I mean, he’s right, but…’_.

Asmo speaks up before you can expand on the thought out loud. “You need a clear aesthetic. If it’s not clear the room will look ugly.” He pouts again.

He’s done that a lot this evening. You toy with the idea of pointing it out but decide that the entertainment you’d get from teasing him, that he might get wrinkles if he continued, wouldn’t be worth derailing the meeting. You already felt like it had been going well for too long and didn’t want to test your luck.

You flip on the managers mask again and continue from his point instead, “It’s not just the aesthetic, themes add to the fun. Besides, chaotic rooms give introverted people headaches… and we don’t want to be _exclusitory_.”, as another smile graces your lips you wonder if your supposed to enjoy working like this.

Levi flashes you a smile in response, but quickly averts his gaze, apparently the top corner of the chart was suddenly intensely interesting to him.

“Themes are also easier to control when organising, and will create the frame work to drape all of the other ideas on top of.”, Satan surprises you by adding the point smoothly.

“Precisely!” You beam back at him.

Beel leans forward to pick up some snacks as he adds thoughtfully, “So do these themes control which kinds of food there is too?”

“Sometimes, yes. It depends on the theme.” You concede.

“So… how’re ya gonna choose a theme?”, the second born was looking as if he felt this was going to bring him work. Which of course it was, but he had seemed to have forgotten about that during the course of the day.

“You mean, how are **we** going to choose a theme?”, Lucifer countered. “You’re responsible for this project too.”. This made Mammon’s expression sour more, he almost looked like he was about to start sulking.

You suppose you need to drag their focus back to task again.

_‘Back to **you** again.’_

You shake your head to dispel the thought and take a quick sip from the water bottle, that Beel had produced for you once you’d all gotten started. “There are lots of themes to choose from, everything from decades in history, to theatrical ideas, even movie themes. There’s a few that are popular and get picked often too.”.

In honesty, you’d always disliked the cheesy themes that had been touted around while you were at high school. It was like it was always the nauseating personal tastes of the organising committee, that was also invariably made up of sickeningly sweet and prissy girls. But, now that it was something you got to dissect and plan, it suddenly seemed much more fun.

Although, you still really wanted something that would appeal to everyone, and you weren’t sure how you were going to accommodate so many tastes.

“Movies?”, Levi’s voice pulls you from your thoughts, “We can have a human world movie night as research!”. His smile lit up and you’re blindsided by it. He only wore that smile when he got genuinely excited about things, you could swear he sparkled from it.

You liked his idea too.

“Any kind of contemporary research sounds good to me.” Satan added musingly. Lucifer nods slowly in agreement.

Beel’s face lit up too, you know how much he enjoyed the regular movie nights in your room, so it was easy to tell why.

_‘Uh oh.’_. Prom movies were going to be problematic.

“If we pick one as a theme it’s a great plan. Contemporary Prom films?... Maybe not so much.” You grimace as their faces fall.

Lucifer regards you with suspicion, “I don’t see how evidence taken from contemporary movies that display proms in context could be problematic.”, His statement held his usual air of authority. Ordinarily you’d be all for evidence, but you’re not sure teen movies meet that quota.

You take another sip of your water and choose your words delicately, “There aren’t many films about Proms. Most are either horror films, or rom-coms that dramatically exaggerate stereotypes. All they focus on are blown out of proportion teenage angst, booze, and… well… sex.”.

You fight the urge to squeeze your eyes shut and pretend you aren’t in the room as you finish your point.

_‘Yep. Congrat’s. That was real smooth….not’._   
  


Lucifer shifts in his seat and narrows his eyes at you but doesn’t respond. You have no idea if his silence is a blessing or should have alarm bells sounding in your head. Satan had also shifted and was wearing an odd expression; you could swear that a faint pink tinge had placed itself on his cheeks.

A laughing breaks the awkward atmosphere and your attention is pulled to Belphie, who was smirking above the edge of his pillow. “Well…That told you.” He quipped.

Levi also started giggling, “Human reminds Lucifer that teen movies involve sex. LOL. – Posted”.

Their amusement appeared to be infectious, as Asmo was now also grinning, “Still, if you’re interested, they sound like my kind of movie.”. As usual his teasing nature had a blush creeping up onto your cheeks.

Mammon banged his hand against the coffee table beside him. _‘Oh, there it is. I thought he’d been quiet for too long too.’_ , You watched him wearily, waiting for his expected outburst to happen.

“What are ya trying’ to say about ‘MC’? She don’t need to be seeing things like that, with **you** waiting to take advantage.”, He’s holding his fist closed obviously resisting the urge to jump up and start shouting.

_‘Is he protecting my virtue?’_. Your amused by how charming the idea is to you.

Lucifer glared at them, “That will not be necessary.”.

The finality of his words would normally have made you nervous, but this time around you were grateful that they provided you with an opportunity to turn the conversation back around.

“Ahh, so back to the popular themes.” You take a steadying breath and rattle off the ones you could remember, “1950’s, Masquerade, Celebrity couples, Seasons, Blues Brothers, Venetian, 1970’s, Greese, Dirty dancing, umm… I think fairy tales has also gone down well, and maybe elements too.”. You use your fingers to check off each one as you go.

“Did you say blues?” Lucifer’s interest was back to you again.

“Hmm yes, Blues Brothers. It’s a very popular movie, most would probably consider it a classic. It’s a movie-musical based around a rhythm and blues band led by two brothers, while they break a ton of laws trying to raise money for the orphanage that they grew up in. Oh… but, umm, thinking about it I’m not sure it’d be suitable here.”, You start off excited but then trail off as the plot resurfaces in your mind.

Satan is now looking at you quizzically, “I think it sounds interesting. What’s wrong with it?”.

_‘Nuns. Nuns - is what’s wrong with it. And the whole story being pinned on a ‘mission from God. – Not exactly Devildom appropriate.’._ You cringe.

“Are you sure you want to ask her to explain herself again?”, Belphie was clearly enjoying his brother’s discomfort as he reconsidered if he did indeed want you to answer his question.

It’d certainly be easier for you if you didn’t find yourself needing to explain that the film involved the human religion built around their father. You seize the opportunity to steer them forward while they are distracted in teasing each other.

“Personally, I think decades of human history are the easiest to choose. They each include a huge range of inspiration and allow everyone to take part.”, You speak quickly but as clearly as possible.

Belphie shuffles in his seat and puts his suggestion forward, “If you like periods in history, how about the French Renaissance era? Lots of pretty dresses, extravagant architecture, and opulent food.”.

There was a faint murmuring of agreement from Asmo, and you had to admit that it’s not a bad idea. You are convinced that you can somehow fit something for all of them into that theme, after all it’s easier to shoehorn things into a theme that’s already extravagant to start with.

“Didn’t you say seasons too? That would be interesting, since the Devildom doesn’t get a seasonal cycle like the human world.”. Satan was collecting a fresh cup of coffee as he spoke.

You wondered just how long he’d be planning to stay awake tonight; it was the third that you’d seen him with this evening. You’d never sleep if it were you drinking that much of it.

“It’s also a very open category, I’d think anyone would be able to find something for themselves that would fit into it.”, he added.

“I like that idea; humans have seasonal foods too.” Beel chirped in with a grin. He leaned back in his seat with a wistful look on his face.

Lucifer also looked pleased with the idea and added his thoughts, “It will be easier for the student body to find references on human seasons while choosing their attire as well.”

They all raised good points, now you were torn between the two.

“Oi oi, but what about how rich the renaissance is?” Mammon countered. “Those humans really knew how to throw a party back then.”.

Asmo nodded, voicing his own opinion too, “It’d only make sense to choose a theme fit for the human royalty if it’s going to be in Diavolo’s castle.”.

For the second time this weekend, a look of confusion crossed Mammon’s face as Asmo agreed with him.

Belphie perked up, “So, the votes are three for three. Levi which would you want?”.

Levi had been looking sullen by himself and looked up surprised to hear his name, “They both sound like boring normie things. Why can’t we have anime?”.

“I’m sorry Levi, but that’s very niche. Not many people are going to understand the theme.” You frown as you explain.

Levi was going to feel left out if you couldn’t find a way to blend the ideas with his hobbies too. The last thing you all needed was an out of control Leviathan having a tantrum over it all, but, more importantly you didn’t want his feelings to be hurt.

“So you’re abstaining your vote.” Belphie huffed. It was a statement rather than a question, but Levi responded anyway. “No. I’m voting for neither. No Otaku should be seen doing such mainstream trash.”.

You could understand his feelings on it.

You were by no means an Otaku back in high school, but you did like things that were different to the run of the mill popular hobbies and aesthetics. It had been hard for you to find a dress for yourself, that had fit into the dumb enchanted princess theme that your own cohort had chosen. In the end you settled on a black medieval gown complete with shift and lacing. You definitely hadn’t fit in amongst all the frills, and bows, and pinks of the other girls, but that had never been your thing, at least you could feel comfortable in your own choice and you still technically fitted into the dress code.

_‘Fuck societal norms.’._

The memory triggered a moment of genius for you though, and you smiled brightly happy with your solution, “Levi… You can still be an otaku and find something that hits both briefs. I’m sure there are anime set in the renaissance era, and I know for sure that plenty use seasonal type magic for their characters. You can use those background to help inspire decorations and food too.”.

He stares at you for a while, like he’s calculating your proposal, then he smiles broadly with a glow to his eyes. He seems to remember himself though, and simply compromises with, “Fine. But I’m not touching normie things.”.

_‘I’ll take that as a win.’._

“MC has the deciding vote then.”, Mammon gestured to you with a grin, he obviously assumed you’d side with him, and the renaissance ball.

“Oh no. No way… I’m not taking final decision. We all need to agree on this, otherwise I could have just chosen my own and forced the point through regardless.” You shake your head with your hands up defensively. 

Lucifer stands and crosses his arms beside you. He hadn’t said a word, but the action was still intimidating, and you make a point of looking everywhere but at him. The other demons seem to share your sentiment too, but they remain quiet waiting for him to speak.

“’MC’ is right, she shouldn’t be burdened with that responsibility alone. Our choices are Renaissance era ball – with opulence that would befit our castle, or Human seasons – with a more open theme that is easier to expand on and is unique to the human world.” He speaks in his usual matter of fact tone, and his face is calm as ever. He raises a hand to stop the various opinions coming from his siblings now.

They quickly obey the gesture.

He continues his conclusion, “It’s late and time is getting away from us. I suggest you all take a couple of days to research both topics. We will meet again on Tuesday evening to discuss what we find and vote for a final theme decision.”.

You could see frowns developing on some of their faces but none of them questioned him. 

Since that effectively adjourned the meeting, Levi made a swift exit mumbling about hoping to catch the end of his raid. You made a mental note to ask him for help in the next few days, you were going to get him onboard with this if it killed you.

Slowly, other brothers made their exits too, until you were left with Asmo and Satan, the same as you had arrived at the meeting today.

“I’m impressed.” Satan stated once it was just the three of you, “You held your own better than Lucifer does.”. He smiled at you as he collected his jacket from the sofa before a little D could swipe it away. A flock of the little guys had appeared to start clearing away the items strewn across tables.

You dashed to the flip chart as they also tried to clear it away, “No. Please leave that… we’re going to need it for a few weeks.”.

You lean down to tap one on the head to gain his attention. He looked at you and huffed, dropping the chart back down in its place. “Thank you.”, you cooed at him, stroking a hand over his head. He made a sound akin to purring and scurried off to collect plates instead.

Satan was watching you with interest, “You seem to have the knack for keeping little Ds happy too.”. He stepped to the side as one of the dark little figures scurried past him with its arms full.

“I like them, they’re sweet.”, You smile ushering another away from the marker, as you retrieved it from a table to place it safely back on the chart frame.

Asmo giggled, placing a hand on your shoulder to guide you out of the room with them, “Sweet, is not a description I’ve heard for them before.”.

Satan held the door once more for you both, “Agreed… You know though, you’re the only person they are so excited to work for.”.

“I can’t say I blame them.”, Asmo was chirpy as ever, and had a mirth to his eyes when he addressed you again now that you were all in the corridor, “They are no different to us really, it’s hard to resist wanting to gain praise from someone like you.”.

You looked at him confused, but he didn’t elaborate. Although nodding in agreement, neither did Satan.

The subject was changed quickly back to theme ideas as you all made your way along the corridor. You entertained their musings, and added your own opinions, while little D’s occasionally whizzed past you, carrying plates to the kitchen.

_‘Their little chirps are adorable.’._

The brothers politely excused themselves when you reached your bedroom door. After you’d said your good-nights to each, you retreated to your space… tired but feeling accomplished.

You’re not startled to find Belphie already asleep in your bed.

_‘He can stay as long as I get cwtches.’._

You change into pyjamas in your bathroom before carefully climbing into bed. You didn’t want to wake him, but still found yourself shimmying up to his side to sleep.

You’re surprised when an arm came over your side to hold you close at the waist, though it’s not unwelcomed. You sigh contently as you close your eyes, listening to the youngest avatar sleepily whispering to you.

“About time. You need sleep, and cuddles will help.”

There is a pause.

“You’re quite brave for a human... Good night.”


	7. Fleeting Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After sleeping soundly, MC has an interesting moment with Belphie that leaves her as confused as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who need the heads up - MC displays anxiety in overthinking in this chapter.

The lanterns hanging in your room slowly brighten into a warm morning glow, the light rouses you from your sleep early.

As you wake, one of the first things you notice is the soft weight of Belphie’s arm still around your waist, although more loosely than last night.

Then the heat of him at your back catches your attention. Your body responds to it more so than you do, and you feel a warmth in the pit of your stomach. Blood rises into a tell-tale blush that you immediately try to shake off.

_‘He just slept with me that’s all.’,_ Even your own thoughts betray you.

 _‘_ Shit _! Shared a bed and cwtched… **SHARED the bed**.’ _You correct yourself in a flash like you’d said it out loud and were trying to retract it.

Your reaction didn’t even make sense to you; it wasn’t like you hadn’t allowed him to stay with you before. He wasn’t the only one either, other occupants of the house joined you often, sometimes you were even a minority species in your own bed.

You screw your eyes shut and take a few steadying breaths.

_‘Come on, you’re a grown arse woman, calm down… maybe that’s the problem though?’_

You pinch the bridge of your nose in a desperate effort to make yourself just stop thinking altogether, before you said something aloud. You try the breaths again, in an effort to still your now rapidly accelerating heartbeat, and you count them to distract yourself.

_‘Five…Four…Three…Two…One…’._

Only once you’d gotten down to ‘one’ safely, you placed your hand on your cheek to test the flush. You’re relieved when it didn’t feel warm. Your heart seemed to have steadied too.

You didn’t want to wake your sleeping companion, you always wanted to murder anyone who woke you prematurely, and you hated doing it to other people.

Happy that you’d recovered from your ridiculous swooning, you reached out an arm to your nightstand, to grab your D.D.D.

Your hand had barely latched onto the device when the arm around you tightened.

It was accompanied by a contented sigh from Belphie as he drew you back towards him, you cursed when the movement caused you to lose your grip and your D.D.D. tumbled to the floor. You retract your outstretched arm immediately, and held your breath waiting for him to stir.

The sound didn’t seem to wake him though, his breathing was still soft and even.

_‘Oh gods, his breathing.’._

Your eyes widen as you register that you can now feel his breath against your skin. When he’d moved you back to him, he had nuzzled himself against the junction between your neck and shoulder.

The rhythmic movement of air was causing your skin to tickle, and a blush was now racing back onto your face.

You freeze. You’re very aware that you probably resemble a rabbit in headlights right now, but aptly you’re too shocked to move away from his grasp.

You listen to his breathing for a short while, this was a much more intimate cuddle than you’d been in with him before. It was a nice feeling, to be held this way for the first time in a long time, but you felt like it was inappropriate to find joy in it while he was sleeping.

While your mind was debating the morals of staying here with him against gently prying yourself free, there is a feather light touch to your neck.

It takes you a few moments to understand that Belphie had just kissed you. You weren’t aware it was possible to blush any more than you already were, but your cheeks heated rapidly, and you became flustered too.

_‘Holy shit… is he awake?’._

Since the breathing of the demon snuggled against you doesn’t change, and he hasn’t said a word, you reason with yourself that he must still be asleep. He can’t have been aware he’d done it.

_‘Oh how embarrassing.’_.

In his position, you’d be mortified that you’d done that to someone unaware. No sense in alerting him to it when there’d been no harm done. You wouldn’t want to embarrass him.

Your heart is still thudding its betrayal to your reasoning against your rib cage though, so putting a plan together in your mind of how to deal with the situation was more clamorous than it should be; You run through potential actions, you could slip out of bed and try not to make a sound as you escape to the bathroom, where you’d change, and then leave him a note to join you at breakfast.

You’re already edging forward and gently prying his arm from your waist, distracted by your planning when you are interrupted by the avatar of sloth’s sleepy voice, “Why so quiet this morning?”.

“Holy fuck!”, the expletive leaves your mouth as the sudden sounds cause you to jump out of your skin… and, as it turns out, halfway off the bed. You have visions of needing to nurse a bloodied nose all week as you’re about to faceplant the floor, but in a flash of movement there are two strong arms pulling you back onto the bed from your descent.

“Woah, careful there sleeping beauty.”, Belphie laughs out, and you’re turned to face him as he drags you into the safety of his embrace.

All previous thoughts are erased from your head in your panic, and you bristle in his arms. You slap his chest, “Fuck me! You scared the life out of me!... what did you do that for!?”, he doesn’t interrupt your seething, and you wish he had as your mouth runs away with you, “Pulling me tight like that without letting me know that you’re awake… are you even aware you bloody kissed me!?”.

As soon as you finish speaking, you cover your face with your hands and hide it against his shoulder in embarrassment before he has the opportunity to answer you.

Your humiliation sinks even lower and you feel like a moron when he laughs again.

“You thought I was asleep? Huh, that explains why you didn’t react.”, the youngest is far too amused for your liking, but you find it hard to be mad with him when he places his hand on your head and runs it down through your hair gently. Even the sound of his laughter is pleasant.

You drop your hands in surrender but press your face against his shoulder as you sigh, refusing to look up towards him. _‘Like hell I’m letting him see this blush.’._

“Do you know your breathing was practically silent? How was I supposed to know?” You complain against him.

He shrugs, “I was drowsy, I wasn’t aware I was supposed to inform you of my level of consciousness.”.

Belphie hesitantly places his hand across your cheek, at least as much of it as he is able with you pressing your face against him, “Still… now I know to make sure we are both thoroughly awake before I kiss you next time.”. His voice was soft but still had an undertone of amusement.

_‘He can’t possibly be serious!?’_

You don’t understand where this is coming from, he’s never said anything like this to you before. You’re just the human exchange student, you’re plain and don’t even have any of your own magic. Why would he even have an interest in kissing you?

You’re fairly certain he is trying to rile you up.

“Nah uh. No teasing me Mr.!”, you slap his shoulder again, but more gently this time. You straighten and shuffle to get off the bed, but he holds you in place.

“Wait…”, he breathes out calmly.

You know he’d let you go if you pushed the matter, but the action was enough to make you want to hear whatever he has to say. So you still yourself and listen.

His violet eyes settle on your face and you find it hard not to dip your gaze away from him.

He looks back and forth from one of your eyes to the other, as if checking for something before speaking, “I wasn’t teasing. I do want to kiss you...”, he pauses. “ But, I think I’ve scared you enough for one morning… So you can test that next time. Okay?”.

_‘Why is he so handsome? This isn’t fair.’_

You stare at him dumbfounded. After a few moments of no response from you he gently nudges your hip, “Don’t make me change my mind about giving that heart rate of yours a chance to come down.”. 

_‘What if I want you to?’_.

You’re embarrassed by your own thought and prey you hadn’t said it out loud. You’re still staring at him too _, ‘He must think my brain has completely shut down’_.

He’s giving you an out though, and you know you should take it, but you don’t want to. You know getting involved with him would be crazy, you have less than half a year left before they send you home. Laying here though, with his arms still around you, you can’t bring yourself to take that fact seriously.

Belphie nuzzles against your neck and makes a frustrated sound, “Please don’t stare at me like that, you’re making it very hard for me to be sensible.”, you can feel his words against your neck.

It sends a tingle along the skin and you can feel it in the base of your skull like a musical current. You want to get lost in that sensation, want to see if he really would kiss you, but you’re also afraid of what might happen next.

“Belphie, I… ah…look, I don’t know if…” you trail off.

_‘What am I even trying to say? Oh my gods you’re an idiot.’_

He chuckles against you, “See I told you, enough excitement already. Now you can’t even form sentences.”

_‘Was his voice always that deep?’_ , the sound settles deep into your bones and you swallow carefully. You scold yourself, _‘Can you not think of anything that doesn’t sound like you have a schoolgirl crush?_ ’.

“I can speak just fine.”, You eventually settle on the statement, but your words sound less certain than you’d expected them too.

Your companion started to move to usher you both off the bed, his hands left your sides and you feel disappointment deflate your chest. But you could still feel the warmth he left behind on your shirt.

“Sure you can. Let’s get to breakfast.” He stated matter-of-factly, as he stretched out a hand to help you up.

As you get to your feet he looks over your body and smiles, “I should let you get ready without me here to keep you on your toes, but I’ll definitely remember to let you know I’m awake before I try that again.”.

The smile is replaced with a cheeky grin as he turns toward the door.

_‘Try it again?... for real he’s planning a second chance?’._

You honestly don’t know if you’re relieved or disappointed by his choice to exit. But, you certainly feel confused about why he’d suddenly decided to give you space.

Without his touch anymore though you feel a sense of loss. It had been brief and actually pretty innocent, but there was so much promise in it of more. The anticipation of where that thought could lead had butterflies fluttering down into your stomach.

You still aren’t convinced that he isn’t teasing you, but he looked every ounce the sincere gentleman when he’d declared he wanted to kiss you.

Your thoughts about the situation come to a screeching halt though, as Belphie turns in the open doorway to speak again, “Although, if the mere thought of a kiss has you this flustered, I have no idea how you resist Asmo’s constant advances. Maybe it’s only a matter of time before you can’t anymore, and I’m on borrowed time to make you mine.”.

With that, he turned on his heels and closed the door behind him, before you could bombard him with the million questions you now had. That was the most forthright, and yet still cryptic thing, that anyone had said to you in weeks and you still felt like you had no idea what anyone was thinking.

The mention of his brother confused you even more, and you wished that the siblings would stop giving you half explanations.

_‘Why the hell does everyone in this damn house have to be so good at getting under my skin!?’_

You grab the nearest object and throw it at the door in frustration. Luckily for you that object happened to be a book, and nothing got broken when it hit the door with a dull thud.

It fell to the floor, laying open awkwardly on its back with random pages sticking up, looking just as scattered as you are.


	8. Henry can get angry too.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast is awkward, and MC ends up agreeing to meet Beel at the gym. Not before ending up doing some mental gymnastics as a result of Asmo and Levi first though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who need the warnings - this chapter contains aggression, mild violence, and some non-consent.

This morning had been eventful in all the ways you’d hoped it wouldn’t be.

After finally calming yourself enough to dress and attend breakfast you arrived late and most of the food was already gone.

Fortunately for you, Beel seems to be overly concerned about you starving yourself to death and had kept a plate of toast and stick of butter for you. If you could describe a toast breakfast as twenty-three pieces of bread. You’d taken three gratefully and enjoyed the smile you got in payment for returning the rest to him.

The conversation had been hectic, various brothers still pointing out why the theme they wanted was superior to the opposing side; Despite none of them having done any actual research except for Satan, who had excitedly told you a bout a book he found in the library to help his studies. You almost felt bad when you had to hurriedly explain that ‘Carrie’ was a horror story.

Asmo had been his usual flirtatious self, which made it all the more difficult for you to keep your composure when Belphie suggested he give you a rest from his constant attempts at charming you.

You’re certain Asmo isn’t trying to charm you, what would be the point? He already knew his powers didn’t work on you. He was just being himself that’s all… ostentatious, and with an inability not to flirt with a vulnerable pair of breasts. Or anyone else for that matter.

You’re grateful that besides that reference to your morning’s conversation, Belphie made no attempt to raise the point in front of the others. Not that it stopped him pressing one of his feet between yours from across the table and leaning his shin against you, which had caused you to drop a piece of toast in surprise.

Seemingly oblivious to his twin’s antics, Beel had inquired if you were sure your okay, and decided maybe you needed to do some exercise and get your heart rate up, so invited you to the gym with him before lunch.

You’d almost choked on your toast, _‘Heart rate? If only he knew!’_. But accepted the invitation regardless so that you wouldn’t cause any alarm.

Levi hadn’t shown for breakfast, you weren’t surprised since he’d probably missed half of his raid, then stayed up all night trying to catch up with the exp. that he’d lost out on. Just in case this had anything to do with his moping from last night though, you’d decided to pay him a visit later and invite him for a movie marathon with you this afternoon.

So here you were, dressed in your gym clothes carefully treading along the corridor with your arms full of DVD’s, when Asmo almost knocked you over as he headed out of his room.

He immediately grabbed your arms to help stabilise you and apologised.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Where are you going in such a rush?”, you dismissed the apology quickly, taking a step back as you did.

He appraised your outfit and smiled, “Hmm. Well, I was late for a spa appointment… but I could always stay and find out where you’re going dressed like that…”.

You knew that your sports bra was doing it’s best to keep your breasts contained, but ultimately it left little to the imagination. You felt shy about the expanse of your shoulders and cleavage still exposed, despite the loose vest you had draped over the top.

Drawing the DVD’s up in front of your chest like a shield wall, you sigh, “You already know I’m meeting Beel at the gym.”.

Your movement amused him and he winked at you, “And… you’re taking DVD’s to the gym?”.

“No!”. Your answer was more tart than you’d meant for it to be and you felt bad for snapping, so you immediately corrected yourself, “Umm, no. Sorry. Of course, I’m not taking these to the Gym. I’m hoping to bribe Levi out of his room later this afternoon for a marathon of Prom research.”.

Asmo didn’t loose his bright smile for a second, he even looked mischievous as he responded, “Oh my… I’d better remember to check in on him later to make sure he survives your visit.”.

“What does that mean?”, you counter quickly… If you’d learnt one thing in the last few days, it was that you need to get your questions out there quickly if you hoped for an explanation.

He looked surprised for a moment but still answered you smoothly, “Sweetie your breasts are gratuitous, and forced together into some rather delightful cleavage… being the antisocial shut in that he is, my poor brother will likely have a heart attack.”. He grinned at you.

_‘Oh… fair point.’_. With attention drawn back to your chest you wish you hadn’t asked.

You have no idea what to say now and stand awkwardly wondering how to dismiss yourself. Perhaps you’d grab a sweater before visiting Levi too.

Asmo tapped the stack of DVD’s and startled you, “Oohh Casanova. I knew him!”.

You gawped at him, “You **knew** Casanova?”.

He looked at you as though he had taken mild offence to your question, “Of Course I knew Giacomo. How do you think he was able to woo so many, hmm?”.

It was too easy to forget that the men you shared a home with were demons and likely lived thousands of years before you. Moments like these brought the reality crashing back towards you. Part of you feels an odd sort of reverence for him, but a wave of excitement washes over you and you’re itching to find out more about renaissance Europe.

“Do you remember that time well?”, you asked slowly.

He nodded happily, “Yes. We had more freedom to visit the human world then. Casanova was a wickedly intelligent man, he was so enticing. European courts were a veritable playground back then.”. He swished the Casanova DVD from your pile, and inspected the cover, “Of course, he wasn’t quite this attractive though.”. He pointed at the leading man – Heath Ledger.

“Oh, well maybe I can educate you on that actor, **if** you come along to the marathon later. He is one of my favourites, and I have more films featuring him for tonight.”, you smile brightly.

Asmo looked you over, he normally doesn’t join your movie nights, but you could see him considering it. The more people you could get to join the research the more fun this would be.

“Okay. Let’s go tell Leviathan.”, He quipped happily, handing you back the DVD and draping his arm around your shoulder to guide you down the corridor.

You stiffened in his grasp when you feel his skin against your shoulders, you still needed to collect a sweater. “Wait, wait… you had a point earlier. I need to go back to my room and collect something to cover, umm...this.”, you vaguely gesture to your chest.

“Oh no darling. I didn’t say he wouldn’t **like** it. Besides, I’m with you now so he will be fine.”, there is an amusement to Asmo’s voice as he tugs you along towards Levi’s room.

Before you know it, you’re standing outside the second-born’s door and Asmo is rapping his knuckles against it. There is a shuffling inside the room.

“Go away, I’m tired.” Levi’s voice was muffled by the door when he called out.

You swallowed and called back, “Morning Levi. It’s me.”.

There is a moment of pause and he calls back, “Have you made any progress in Mononoke Land yet? I’m still waiting for you to get good spirits to trade. You know there…”. He’d made his way to the door while speaking and trailed off after he opened it and saw you stood there.

His gaze darted from your breast back to your face in embarrassment as a strangled noise left him.

Asmo chuckled, “Well that was all I needed. I’m already late so I’ll catch up with you later for that enchanting actor’s face.”. He sashayed away quickly and was out of sight while you spin around to yell back at him.

“Asmo I’m going to kill you. Next time I’m going to ban you from clubbing for a year!”. _‘That calculating son of a bitch.’._ You had been dumb enough to let him play that and you were annoyed with yourself.

You’d get him back later somehow, but for now… You think Levi has stopped breathing.

Levi choked behind you, and you could feel his energy burning heavily around him in irritation. When you turn back to him, you’re caught off guard to see he’s in his demon form.

_‘Okay. This escalated quickly.’_

You take a step back as his tail swishes.

His cheeks are still flushed, and you feel a pang of guilt for having unwittingly taken part in a trick on him. You clutch the DVD’s to your chest and carefully reach out your other arm to touch his shoulder. He flinches, and glares at you.

He pulls his shoulder away from you and mumbles, “Touchey, no no.”.

You have lost count of how many times you’ve heard him say that. You’re apprehensive about how to handle this, but walking away isn’t an option, the whole point of the movie marathon today was so that he wouldn’t feel left out.

“Okay, I know… No touching.” You say slowly, and hold the DVD’s out in front of you, waving them slowly to get his attention.

Levi looked at you suspiciously but didn’t move, “I could kill both of you.”, his voice sounded more like a growl than words.

“Yes, you could. But, I came here to see **you**. Because I wanted to invite you to a marathon of human media. I thought you’d like this form of research for the prom.”. You fan out the cases as best you can to emphasise your point.

He scowls though and you let out what, embarrassingly to you, sounds like a squeak as his tail captures one of your wrists. “For me? Yet Asmo has already been invited. I’m never the first to know anything, and it’s not fair!”.

You didn’t want to hurt his feelings but honestly the self-depreciative attitude was annoying you. “That was an accident.” You snapped at him irritably, “He bumped into me in the corridor while I was on my way to see **you**.”. ‘Prick.’ You managed to stop yourself adding that last bit.

His tail tightened its grip anyway and you flinched. “And I suppose your stood at my door dressed like that because you let him use you as his little doll again?”.

Levi was still growling out words. You knew the fact that he wasn’t getting any calmer should scare you, but oh boy did he have a knack for choosing the right words to piss you off instead.

“I am nobody’s little doll!” You hiss at him angrily. “I’m going to the gym to meet Beel.”. You feel a battle of wills about to erupt and you sure as hell aren’t about to back down. Demon or not.

“So Beel feeds you and you give him an eye-full in return?”, His hand seized your other wrist as he spoke.

_‘Oh hell no, we aren’t playing this game sugar.’_

You glare at him and inject cold venom into your own words.

“Nobody is getting an eye-full! And if they were, it wouldn’t be as payment for any damn thing. How dare you suggest that my body is a commodity I use to pay people. Maybe if you left your bloody room occasionally, you’d know that working out needs appropriate clothes!”

The demon in front of you didn’t loosen his grip but he had stilled and was almost staring right through you.

You heaved a breath before ranting onward, “I might not be as strong as you, or as fast as demons, and I might not have powerful magic like Soloman, but one thing I do have is autonomy over my own god damn fucking body! And while I’m at it… Maybe you should stop to consider that maybe I actually **was** thinking of you first. Because for some insane reason I’m your friend, and I don’t want you to be left out of anything. I **wanted** to share this afternoon with you. If you can’t accept that then you can go fuck yourself!”.

Your whole body is shaking, and your face had turned red, you felt sick. Anger always made you feel sick, you hated lashing out at people, but you weren’t willing to back down yet.

Levi had fixed his eyes on yours and was staring at you with an incredulous expression.

You glared back.

Both of you stared each other down.

Neither of you moved.

The time passing between you dragged on and felt like hours, but you were certain it had only been around a minute. Your anger is still crackling under your skin, and you resolutely decide that you’re about to tell him how much of an asshole he is being… when his lips crash down onto yours.

Your mind goes blank.

He drags you toward him, the DVD’s that had been stiffly stuck in your hands while your wrists were held, went plummeting to the floor. You felt like you were plummeting too.

He’d taken you totally by surprise and even if you wanted to you couldn’t stop him, he was far too strong for you to break away. His tongue snaked its way along your lips, and you squeezed them together in defiance. You shoved your hands against his chest to push away from him, but with both wrists pinned and now his other arm around your waist, the action was barely registered by him.

When you refused admittance to your mouth, his lips travelled across to your jaw, and neck where he continued to kiss your heated skin. The warmth of his body was enveloping you, a moan escaped you despite your resistance, causing Levi to answer it with a groan.

The sound ignites a warmth in your stomach and your heart is racing, your skin is begging to be touched more, and you want to surrender to it.

But not like this.

You shake your head against him, it doesn’t dissuade him. “Levi, that’s enough.” There’s a steel to your voice you hadn’t believed you had the strength to use right now. Your foot also kicked sharply against his shin, you didn’t think it’d hurt him, but with any luck it’d sting enough to catch his attention.

The avatar of envy stilled, he buried his face into your shoulder, and you could feel his hair tickling your neck. His arm was still around your waist, but his tail had let your wrist go and was disappearing behind his back. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”, his voice was quiet.

“Damn right you shouldn’t have.” You snapped, prying your other wrist from his hand.

He glimmers back to his casual clothes before raising his head. The look on his face resembled a lost puppy when his gaze met yours. “Are you okay?”, he asks tensely.

“No thanks to you.”, you don’t want to be mean, but the words are out before you can stop them. Levi flinched. “I deserved that.”, he whispered.

He snatched up your hands again, this time gently and checked over your wrists where he had been previously holding you.

There were small red marks on both but no sign of anything deeper right now, you weren’t sure of what he thought about the redness that greeted him, but he looked back to you with a resolute expression.

“You’re my Henry.” A small smile tugged at the sides of his mouth and he continued, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry. It hurts me when my true friend shares herself with other people, I don’t know how to deal with that. But, I’ll try harder for you.”. He squeezes your hands carefully.

_‘Is he blushing?’._

You’re still angry, but you feel a small fizzle of magic between you, like he is trying to impress across your pact that he is being sincere.

You take a deep breath and squeeze his hands back before bending to collect the scattered DVD’s, you hoped the action would distract you long enough to be able to give him a calm response.

He quickly dropped to his knees to help you collect them. He held one out to you, “Is… Is this one an anime?” He asked shyly.

You glanced at the case in his hand as you both rose back to your feet: RWBY. “Yes. It’s not a movie, but I chose it for you.”, you run a hand down the bridge of your nose and shrug.

He looks ashamed.

_‘Good.’_

You shove the remaining cases into his hands, “Look, if you want to apologise… come to the marathon later and bring all of these with you.”. You speak flatly and he nods.

It looks as though Levi is going to speak but you raise your hand to silence him. “I’m already late. So just…Just show up. Okay?”.

You heave your shoulders up with a sigh and swiftly head away from him, stubbornly refusing to look back.

You shake your head as you round the corner to the stairs.

_‘Jesus H. Christ… I’m going to need this gym session like a cheap hooker needs crack.’_


	9. Working it out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC uses music therapy and a tread mill to work out her thoughts on everything that has changed in a few short hours. Beel - does Beel things, and she is grateful for the space he makes for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that need the warning tags, please be aware that this chapter gets heavy. There's a lot of serious topics whizzed by in here including the following: overthinking, anxiety, general insecurity, dissociating, panic attacks, and there is an inference that MC thinks about rape.
> 
> If you feel the need to skip this chapter to avoid triggers, the next chapter will pick up where the story left off from that last one.

Beel had already made a start on his daily routine when you arrived at the gym.

Your body was still shaking, your face was probably red too, but at least you’d made it here without having a breakdown along the way.

_‘What the hell has gotten into everyone?’._

He turned to smile at you when he heard the door swing open, but the expression was replaced with a frown in an instant. “Are you okay?”, He asked, concern was lacing his voice.

_‘Well that’s all the confirmation I need that I look like shit right now.’_

You smile wryly at him as you approach a treadmill near to his weight bench, he’s always so concerned for you and you wonder what you’ve done to deserve this gentle giant on your side. “I’m fine. Just had a bit of a fright that’s all.”.

You pause to squeeze his arm reassuringly; he doesn’t look like he believes you.

You’re glad you’re the only people who ever seem to come in here on a Sunday, at least you could trust that Beel would leave you in peace if you need it, and he’d make sure no one else bothers you either.

The worried looking demon is still watching you, so you flash another smile before stepping onto the machine. “I’m just feeling a bit overwhelmed today, I’ll be fine. I promise.”.

You plug some earbuds into your D.D.D. and wave them towards him before you put them in your ears, adding, “Nothing I can’t solve by deafening myself with metal and running miles away.”.

He smiles at you and before you switch on the music you hear him respond, “Alright. But if you need anything, I’m right here.”

_‘Aww, my poor heart.’_

You like Beel, he’s sweet and you know he would do anything to keep you safe, especially after you’d helped with Belphie. You do wonder if he does it because he feels like he owes you though, you hope it’s not the case, but it’s a thought that always sits in the back of your mind.

It had been nice when he had first opened up to you while the two of you were sharing a room, it felt like you were genuinely making your first friend here. One you could be close to.

You turned your volume up so loud it could probably be heard outside of your earphones, but that’s exactly how you liked it. High enough that it blocks out all other sounds and lets you forget where you are, even **who** you are sometimes.

The heavy base rhythms helped you to plant your feet down into the ground with purpose after the tread mill started up. One step for each thud, it meant you didn’t need to count, you didn’t need to be present at all, and you needed that now.

Today had thrown you through a grinder.

Belphie’s awkward wake up call to Levi’s tantrum, with Asmo’s teasing still on your mind too, you had to wonder if they were all in a coup to literally cause you to have a heart attack.

Your feet travelled automatically beneath you, thud, thud, thud, thud.

Asmo you could understand, that’s just what he’s like. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for him to flirt and tease you, you’d gotten used to it very quickly for the sake of your own blood pressure.

Belphie was different though, you don’t understand what it is that he sees in you, but there is definitely something serious going on in his mind. It isn’t an inherent part of his personality like his lusty brother, and the fact both scared and excited you.

You swayed your arms naturally in time with each step, twisting your torso to allow the momentum to keep you going forward, at least it would have been forwards on a tarmac road. But still, the belt spun beneath you and you tread down into it with each step.

Levi… you didn’t even know where to begin in sorting the threads of that tangled mess in your mind. You’d always thought that jealousy was a stupid emotion, even if you were guilty of it on occasion yourself, you still acknowledged that it was a waste of time since it never improved any situation. You’d been harsh with him, but you didn’t regret it, it was about time someone stood up against those tantrums.

Even if it was incredibly stupid of you.

In hindsight you’re very lucky, he could easily kill you… or what if he hadn’t stopped when you’d asked? You shuddered and pushed the thought away. That was one you certainly didn’t have the energy to unpack today.

You focused on the feeling of each foot grounding.

The sound of the music washing over you like a cleanse of energy, you used it to push the negative feelings down through your feet and out into the ground.

Mindfulness was something you’d grown good at over the years. Recognising where you were drowning in emotions and finding a way to process out that feeling, even if you couldn’t find a solution in the moment, had been an important survival tactic for your mental health.

You couldn’t understand what any of them could possibly want with you anyway. No demonic strength, no angelic healing, no otherworldly magic, you wouldn’t even consider yourself to be conventionally pretty.

_‘The worst part is… that I like every single bloody one of them! I could cope with it when nobody reciprocated, now I have no clue what to do.’,_ Your own internal voice interrupted your mind’s monologue as it worked through the emotional scrap salvage.

Fading in around the edges of your thoughts you could still pinpoint each step you took. Left, right, left, right, drumbeat, bass guitar.

Friendship came naturally to you, that was easy, you’d always had a caring nature and friendships easily followed it. But relationships beyond that had never gone well, a few had gone so horribly wrong that as a result, you’d avoided anything more than one-night stands for years now.

Your job had even helped with that, since you threw yourself into work and rarely left the office on time. It had been an odd sensation when you arrived, to discover you had your afternoons and evenings to yourself here in the Devildom.

It occurred to you that, had you been thinking aloud, it wouldn’t be unfair for someone to compare your negativity to Levi at the moment.

You cursed yourself and tried again to ground yourself.

However, the events of today still replayed themselves in your mind, what if you’d chosen different responses, what if you’d seen it coming and reacted differently? Pointless questions you knew, but your mind showed you a million possibilities regardless. You knew you were being irrational.

_‘But what if? What if he hadn’t stopped?’_

A hand comes out of nowhere, dropping past your face from behind to hit the emergency stop.

The sudden change should have seen you careering forwards right into the control screen at the front of the machine. You feel totally lost when this doesn’t happen. It felt like physics had been broken and you were in dissonance.

Not only had you stilled for a fraction of a second there was now a pressure around your waist and chest propelling you backwards. You flailed your arms in your confusion, tugging out one of your ear buds as the pressure around you only released to capture your arms to your chest too.

Your mind was reeling again, you’d been ripped out of your thoughts so suddenly it was lagging to come back out of meditation to consciousness for you.

“MC! MC, Calm down. I’ve got you.” Beel’s voice broke through your confusion.

You shook your head, your chest suddenly felt painful, your lungs were burning as you gasped in air erratically, and your legs felt like jelly from the sudden loss of the moving ground beneath you.

“It’s ok. It’s ok, breathe easy, come on…in… out… in… out…”, his voice reached through to you again and you found yourself following his directions.

You looked around the gym in a mixture of confusion and panic, you had no idea what just happened or why Beel would pull you off like that.

_‘How long had he been calling your name? When did my breathing get like that?’,_ you felt triumphant that that last thought was a coherent one, even if it was more questions.

That was when you came fully crashing back to reality.

The arms pinned to your chest felt heavy and your hands pressing against your chin felt damp, you registered that it was tears. Tears were streaming down your face, blazing a trail down your neck and settling on your chest, as you still dragged breaths steadily in and out following what Beel had directed you to do.

_‘Oh my gods am I having a panic attack?’._

You felt cold, like all your blood had been replaced with ice water.

Beel was stroking his thumbs along your forearms as he held you there, and was still breathing solidly in and out as a guide for you. He was warm, and familiar, and you noticed a sweet smell of candies around you.

You wondered how long you’d been unreachable for, when did he notice, and how long he’d been calling your name before he decided his only choice was to intervene.

You felt bad, it must have been so frightening. “I’m so sorry.” You sobbed out at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”.

He allowed his breathing to fall back into his normal soft rhythm and squeezed you delicately. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.”. Your companion lowered his head and nuzzled his face to your neck, “I hope you’re ok.” He added with a sigh.

You honestly weren’t sure if you were. You’d never been ripped out of an attack like that before, you didn’t know you could be.

It was disorientating, but you also felt conscious a lot more quickly than you’d ever done when you’d needed to pull out of them by yourself before.

You felt annoyed with yourself, you should have recognised where those thoughts were taking you. It had always been hard to turn back once they started to go down that rabbit hole though, and it had been a long time since you last had an episode, it must have been years.

“I’m going to be okay… thanks to you.”, you spoke carefully, wiping your hands against your face to sweep away the tears that were now slowing. You wriggled in his lap until he loosened his grip and allowed you to turn to face him, immediately after which you pressed your face to his chest. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”.

“I already told you, don’t be sorry. We all have nightmares.”, He rested his chin on your head thoughtfully. “Do you want to talk about it?”.

You shake your head back and forth. You didn’t think it was a good idea to delve back into those thoughts yet. Beel squeezed you again, “It’s okay, you don’t have to if you’re not ready.”.

_‘Why is this man such a god damned star?’_.

You groan against his chest and he holds his breath. When you don’t say anything else, he breathes again for a moment before speaking, “You don’t have to say anything at all. I’m around if you change your mind.”. You can feel his words rumble around you comfortingly.

You don’t mind not talking, you felt safe here. His arms were like a protective cage from the world, and you felt at home there. You both sat quietly while your tears stopped and your breathing evened out to a soft rolling of your chest, instead of the chaotic sucking in of air you’d been struggling to do earlier.

Beel simply waited there with you until you felt ready to move. He didn’t speak again either, you would be eternally grateful that he had not pushed you to explain.

You lifted your head to look at your companion, he was becoming your emotional bodyguard it seemed.

He appeared happy to see your face at last, his eyes were soft and he immediately moved his hand to cradle your head, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on your forehead. “Are you feeling better?” he asked tentatively.

You nod with a weak smile. He stays there, waiting for you to lead the pace on how quickly you wanted to move back into reality.

You take a deep breath and wipe your eyes, straighten your back and test your legs by flexing your feet up and down. They weren’t jelly any more. You were relieved, but it wasn’t until now that you noticed your feet hadn’t even been touching the floor. 

You shuffle forward to make your way to your feet, and Beel’s arms carefully unravel from around you, though he keeps his hands near to your sides just in case you needed him. He waits for you to take a few steps forward then gets to his own feet beside you.

You turn and tip toe to kiss him lightly on his cheek, “Thank you.”, your smile now was full and bright again. He drew you into his arms again and nuzzled the top of your head, there was nothing restrictive in his hold and you sighed contently. He let you go again almost as quickly as he’d pulled you back. His own smile lit up his hole face as he looked down at you.

_‘This is possibly the most enchanting man you’d ever met.’_

“I’m glad your back. Come on, let’s get you to your room.”, there isn’t any hint of command in his voice, but you comply with his suggestion, using a small sink in the showers to wash your face with cold water before you go.

You’re thankful that no one bumped into the two of you on your way back, and once you were both safe in the confines of your own room, you hugged Beel again with thanks.

“Thank you for everything. I’ll be fine now.”. You reassure him, but he makes no effort to leave. “I, ah…Look, I need to shower. So, uh…”. You didn’t exactly want to tell him to go, but you didn’t want him to feel burdened to look after you either.

He nodded slowly; his violet eyes were still watching you though. “You go do what you need to do. I’ll stay here.”, he flushed, and he quickly added, “Here in the **bedroom**. I won’t peek in the bathroom, I promise.”.

It caused you to giggle fondly. “Are you sure? I’m not keeping you from anything?” you questioned softly.

He shook his head, “Nope. I want to stay. I can borrow your shower after you’re done, if you don’t mind. I had no plans; you’re not putting on me so don’t worry about that either. Now, go shower.” Beel shooed you towards your bathroom, and you allowed him to usher you through the doorway.

_‘I guess that’s final then.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make sure some sort of emotional processing happened, it bothers me that huge things happen and MC just carries along happily as if life is all fine and dandy.
> 
> This chapter went a lot deeper than I had originally intended it to. Once it was written though, I decided to keep it because not enough people talk about these things.  
> How panic attacks can have a delay from their trigger, how overthinking can spiral... and importantly the people effected by this are often painfully aware of how irrational they are being, but they are unable to stop it unfolding, there is often a sense of lagging guilt afterwards too.


	10. Demons don't hide under the bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC takes comfort in mundane activities, and turns her room into a theater for a demon's education in human cultures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warning tags here, just a movie day with some of the most powerful demons in the Devildom in a cuddle pile.

After showering, while Beel had disappeared into your bathroom, you set about turning your room into a movie theatre. You still had an aching pain in your chest from your exertion today, but you also felt like you had a much clearer idea of how you felt.

_‘Levi had better be ready to spend a few day’s grovelling, if I’m going to forgive him for saying those things to me._ ’.

You thought about any forgiveness as you threw some pillows onto the cosy nest you were creating on your floor. Although, you acknowledged that you probably already had decided he couldn’t help it since he’d already been in a rage, but it wasn’t going to fly that easily, and you were going to make him work for it.

Beel emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. You stilled immediately, all you could do was stand stock still and stare.

It hadn’t occurred to you, that he wouldn’t have a change of clothes, after bringing you straight back to your room from the gym. His hair was still damp and a few errant water droplets were making their way down his neck, as he stepped out to the carpeted room. Your eyes involuntarily followed their descent along his collar bones.

He smiled at you sheepishly, “I’m going to my room to get some clothes.”. He spoke slowly looking at you carefully. “You’ll be okay until I get back, yeah?”.

You swallow, acutely aware of how large he is, while you were faced with the expanse of his muscles. All you could do was nod.

_‘How is it possible to be that sweet and be built like Adonis too?’_

He frowned, obviously concerned you were still shaking off the effects of earlier. He started to move towards you, and you waved your arms in front of you defensively, heat racing to your face, “No no, I’m fine honestly. Nothing’s going to happen if you leave me for ten minutes.”.

He stopped, grinned and turned to the door, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.”.

_‘I might need a kiss of life though.’_

You watched him disappear through the door and mentally slapped yourself. Your D.D.D. beeps away and you’re mercifully snapped out of your thoughts before they turn too explicit. You spend a while entertaining the activity on your device.

* * *

**Satan:** Good afternoon MC.

 **Satan:** I found a human musical score about seasons. Would you like to hear it with me later?

 **MC:** Sorry, I’ve already planned a movie marathon. You should come along here instead if you like.

 **MC:** I tried to gather evidence on both themes, and some teen movies too.

 **Satan:** I thought you said movies were problematic?

 **MC:** Well… they are. But I decided we could all use some light-hearted research.

 **Satan:** Okay. I’ll be round later.

* * *

**Mammon:** Oi Human… Asmo says you’re watching movies tonight.

 **Mammon:** You’re not going to leave out THE great Mammon are ya?

 **MC:** I wouldn’t dare.

 **Mammon:** So where is my invite then huh?

 **MC:** I don’t need to invite you. Asmo already did.

 **Mammon:** He didn’t.

 **Mammon:** See you later.

* * *

**MC:** Don’t forget to bring the DVD’s. I’ll see you later.

 **MC:** Don’t you dare flake out of this.

 **Leviathan:** Would the Lord of Shadows let down Henry?

* * *

You put the device on your nightstand and fluff some of the pillows on the floor. You’re midway through your task, which was essentially preening a nest, when there is a gentle knock at your door.

You’ve no need to respond as it opens slowly, Beel appears in the doorway. He’s dressed in his casual clothes now, but in your minds eye you can still see those damn water droplets. You avert your eyes quickly before another blush creeps into your cheeks.

Surprisingly Belphie follows him into the room. He smiles at you softly and waves hello with little effort. “I heard there are movies, so I thought I’d turn up for you.”. He immediately made a bee line for your bed. It didn’t bother him that you’d stripped it of blankets since he had his own pillow.

Your chest swelled with affection. If nothing else, you could take comfort in the fact that you knew the brothers were going to put effort in for your sake. They’d help you, even if they liked to pretend that they were disinterested.

You ruffled Belphie’s hair and he pulled away from you with a grumble.

“Don’t get comfortable. We are going to need snacks.”, you chuckle as he frowns at you.

“That’s Beel’s problem.” He retorted with a sigh, but was already making his way back to his feet.

The three of you busied yourselves for the next hour in the kitchen: preparing popcorn, pouring chips into bowls, and collecting bags of candies, and various odd demon jerkies you chose not to ask the origin of.

Little D’s had popped up to help you ferry items back to your room with happy little chirps. Normality was settling back in and you felt very content.

You’d even bumped into Lucifer there, who declined your invite to join you all but asked for the DVD’s to be delivered to his room later, so that he could catch up with the research in his own time.

* * *

You were quite proud of the snack buffet that adorned your table, although you weren’t sure how long it was going to last with Beel around.

As if on cue to your thoughts, the ginger haired demon bustled through your door, stomach growling loudly, carrying the pizzas that he had just collected from the overburdened delivery person.

He smiled brightly at you and plopped the boxes down onto the only space left on the table. With an easy flick of his wrist he opened the top box and retrieved two slices of pizza for himself.

You tip toe and throw your arms around him in an excited hug, “Thank you so much for the help today.” You beamed at him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

He froze, pizza midway to his mouth and blushed. He doesn’t get an opportunity to answer you though, as a muffled protest came from behind pillows on your bed. “Hey, I helped too.”, Belphie had installed himself on your bed immediately after helping to carry the last of the platters into your room.

You giggle and make your way over to the bed, “Yes, you did.”, you agree. You perch yourself on the bed and lean over to kiss his cheek too, but as you sit back up you add, “Though I think the Little D’s carried more than you.”.

You’re gently swatted with a pillow from behind and start giggling.

“Oi oi! Belphie, no need to be getting that close to MC you know.”, Mammon was bursting through your door with his normal lack of tact and you couldn’t help but continue giggling.

He stared at you, “What’s so funny huh? Wanna fill your first man in on the joke?”.

“There’s no joke. I’m just feeling happy.”, you smile at him sweetly and he blushes. Unfortunately, Mammon quickly recovers his usual bravado, “Of course ya are. THE great Mammon is here now and we can get started.”.

You hear Belphie snicker behind you and you resist the urge to smother him with a pillow. Beel rolls his eyes, but continues to fish another slice of pizza out of the boxes.

“Not yet.”. You announce as the second born settles himself into the piles of blankets on the floor in front of you, leaning his back against your legs. “Levi has the DVD’s. I took them to him to have a sneak peek earlier.”.

“Oohhh.. is that what you call it?” Asmo hummed from your doorway.

“You! You are in so much trouble mister!”, you pointed your finger at him accusingly as he made his way into your room. Beel stiffened and watched his older brother closely as you berated him. “You intentionally tricked me into making Levi feel uncomfortable. He was furious!”.

Asmo winked, “I saw his face, he didn’t mind that sneak peek.”

You stared at him, not unlike a head teacher ranting at a teenager who always seems to be in the centre of trouble, “Oh no. I mean it Asmo! Once you left, he was so jealous. You owe me big time!... Just you wait until I figure out a suitable punishment for you.”.

A look of comprehension settled on Beel’s face, but he didn’t add to your conversation.

He simply settled onto one of your dining chairs sitting over the seat backwards. He rested his arms over its back as he gave up being reserved and snatched up a whole pizza box to rifle through.

You briefly wondered if you’d need to separate him from Levi later.

Asmo seemed to have the same look of realisation and was quickly at your side on the edge of the bed. He swiped up one of your hands in his and looked intently at you, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think he’d have a tantrum. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”.

You could see Beel looking annoyed now over Asmos shoulder.

“No.”, you lied instantly. ‘ _Not technically a lie, there’s no damage done.’_.

The last thing you need was more angry demons to contend with. Especially if they were genuinely angry with each other, you know in your bones that if any of them ever really hurt you the others would probably raise hell and tear them apart. You shiver… that’s a thought you definitely didn’t need to visualise.

Everyone in the room was now looking at you with apprehension. Asmo ran his thumb across the top of your hand as he held it, you don’t think any of them believe you. “Remember you can call us with the pacts, if anyone ever does.”, he reminded you smoothly.

“No one hurt me. I’m fine.”, you place a bright smile on your face. “I calmed him down, and he will be here soon, so you can see for yourself that there is nothing wrong.”.

You crossed your fingers in your mind and hoped to any god listening, that Levi doesn’t behave awkwardly when he arrives. Well, no more awkward than normal at any rate.

Mammon makes a fuss about being your first, and therefore needing to be called before anyone else, and you take the opportunity to whisper to Asmo while the others are distracted by Mammon’s preaching, “We need to talk about this later. Please hang around.”.

The fair-haired demon looks at you skeptically but nods. You squeeze his hand before standing to collect a bottle of water from the table full of food.

Beel watches you move around with concern still in his eyes, so you squeeze his shoulders affectionately while you’re there.

Your action doesn’t go unnoticed by Mammon who splutters from across the room, “Quit that! Stop touching each other. MC you shouldn’t encourage them.”.

He is in the middle of his rant when there is a faint knocking from your door.

You looked up to it as it opened slowly and revealed a nervous looking Levi, arms full of the DVD’s and a curious looking orange plushie. You see a flash of annoyance cross his eyes as he looks around the room, but he clears his throat and it’s quickly hidden away.

Beel on the other hand seemed to be looking at his older brother with irritation, a look that only subsided after you ushered Levi into the room. You felt relieved that he had chosen not to say anything about what happened in the gym today, but made a mental note that you’d have to explain things to him later.

The avatar of envy carefully places the DVD’s in a pile on the stand with your TV.

You throw your arms around him in a hug and he immediately turns bright red, he makes a strangled noise but you refuse to let him shake you off. You lean in and talk quietly next to his ear, “You need to work hard. But thank you for coming, I want us to be alright.”.

You release him and turn to make your way to settle amongst the blankets with Mammon and Asmo who was now also laid out among them.

Levi catches your hand in his though and coughs. “I thought you could use a Henry of your own. So this is for you.” He lifts up the orange plushie to gain your attention.

It’s a goldfish, your very own Henry 2.0. You take it from him carefully and smile warmly.

“Thank you. He can live on the tea station and watch the TV from there.”, You squeeze his hand, and he lets you go in a panic as if he’d forgotten he had been holding it. You settle the little fish in its pride of place near to the water vase on the station.

You summon Levi to the blanket nest with a wave of your hands. He complies but is careful not to touch you again as he sits among you and his brothers.

There is a hum of general chit chat between the siblings for a while before Satan arrives. He knocks the door sharply, similarly to Lucifer you thought in amusement, but he let himself in and issued an apology for holding everyone up.

You assured him it was fine and happily flicked the TV on with the remote. A Little D appeared and clumsily popped the first DVD in the pile into the player for you.

Satan took a seat near to Belphie on the bed, he nudged his sleepy brother aside and rested his back against the wall.

“I hadn’t planned on this being so big… but here we are. So I hope you enjoy these films, or at least learn a little something about the human world.”. Your words seemed to capture everyone’s attention and you nervously continued, “Here’s the screening list: ‘RWBY,’ an anime so you can all see seasons displayed as character themes – I’m only showing you key episodes though, there are a lot of series and you can catch up with the rest some other time. ‘Casanova’ for an insight of Renaissance court life, ‘10 Things I Hate About You’, followed by ‘A Knight’s Tale’… that one’s from the wrong era, but I did promise someone an education in Heath Ledger, and it’s probably my favourite film ever. Then, ‘Never Been Kissed’, and ‘She’s All That’, for an insight into how teens react to proms.”.

Your audience was nodding along with your list, but you had no idea why, you knew none of them would understand what any of that meant right now.

You noticed that your playlist had also seemed to make both Levi and Asmo happy. You made a silent prayer of thanks for it and clicked ‘play’ on the remote.

The room was quiet through most of the movies, you were surprised that they all seemed to be showing so much interest. There was the occasional discussion about what was happening during each plot, and everyone shuffled occasionally to retrieve snacks from the table or quickly visit the bathroom.

You had tucked your feet up to your legs and were resting against the bed.

As time went on, Asmo had managed to get himself sitting next to you and was idly drawing circles on your shoulder with his fingers.

Mammon had also managed to get closer, his head eventually in your lap where you could let your fingers run in his hair, to be honest that seemed standard practice in movie nights anyway.

Levi had even narrowed his no touch zone and was resting on a nearby pillow, that was brushing against your shins.

At some point Beel had shuffled Belphie, who was asleep, towards the end of the bed so that he could sit between him and Satan.

Even Satan seemed to relax and had pulled his knees up under his chin to rest on them.

Your room felt relaxed, the contentment between everyone made you feel warm with affection.

You considered yourself lucky for your demons.

They didn’t hide under your bed like you’d been told they would as a child, instead they occupied more space than you in your own blanket nest, showed jealousy over your attention, and took as much comfort in your presence as you did in theirs. Any kinks in the arrangement could be worked out in time, and you didn’t mind.

These were the thoughts you had as you drifted to sleep with your head leaning on Asmo’s shoulder, long before the last film ended.

The men around you loyally finished their movie education in relative silence, not wanting to wake you.

Thanks to your relatively early start this finished around 11pm, and they were able to slowly make their way to their own room’s… before Lucifer caught anyone out past curfew, when they had to be at R.A.D. tomorrow morning.


	11. Laying it out there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a slightly strange day Asmo catches up with MC after classes, and she realises she might have been being a tad oblivious to things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the warnings, there is discussion about things that happened back in chapter 8, during this chapter.

Monday morning had been weird.

You’d woken up snuggled safely into the blanket nest on your floor, with Asmo snuggled closely to you. What had surprised you more, was the fact he had forgone his ‘naked in bed’ rule – since you’d banned him from doing that in your room long ago.

He’d rested your fears that there was probably a debate over who got to stay the night, by explaining that you’d previously asked him to stay behind, in the company of others to attest to the fact. Besides that, you’d fallen asleep on him and since none of them wanted to wake you, it was agreed that your makeshift pillow had been allowed to stay behind.

Little Ds had sprung into action the moment you were out of the blankets, restoring your room to its normal appearance. Whizzing away with plates and bowls to the kitchen before you’d even finished dressing.

He’d asked you, probably a thousand times, if you were sure that Levi hadn’t hurt you the day before. In the end, you’d promised him, that if he came to you this evening after school, you would discuss it with him further.

His fussing over your wellbeing, and insistence on ‘correcting’ your uniform, had made you both late for breakfast. Lucifer had shot you a disapproving look when the two of you had appeared at the table together, but hadn’t bothered himself with scolding either of you.

You were pleasantly caught off guard by the breakfast conversation revolving around some of the previous night’s movies.

Despite you running late, Beel had taken extra care to make sure you had plenty of hot tea, and even managed to find a couple of croissants for you. 

Your day at R.A.D. hadn’t been a bad one, and you’d been greeted by an excited Simeon who wanted to know all your opinions on Proms, and the king and queen votes.

You felt like he could have asked you this on Friday. However, you enjoyed his company, and his calm soothing voice seemed like a small reprieve - after the chattering demons who debated among themselves rudely, about how they felt you’d never successfully organise the seven brothers into a planning committee.

You’d also thought defiantly to yourself that those particular demons _‘Can suck my dick’_.

Luke lamented how he was missing out on the opportunity to add some ‘decorum’, and you’d chuckled, promising him that you’d let him come and help with anything you could.

Beel had checked in on you regularly through the day. Sitting near you in class when he could, and messaging your D.D.D. when he couldn’t.

Mammon had checked with you at least ten times, that his ‘pervert brother hadn’t tried anything weird’ overnight. Ordinarily you’d have been tempted to tell him that you were disappointed that, alas, he had not. As it was, with the revelation they appeared to have amongst themselves regarding Levi yesterday, you settled for simply giving him multiple synonyms of ‘no’.

It wasn’t unusual that neither Levi nor Belphie had shown up to R.A.D. today. You’d received a demanding message from Belphie though, insisting you let him know immediately if anyone was bothering you.

Dinner with the occupants of the house of Lamentation had come and gone in relative peace, if you could consider Mammon and Satan quarrelling, about Mammon chasing money instead of his grades, as peaceful.

It had taken until the end of dinner before Levi had messaged you.

You weren’t sure if this was a sign of him caving in to contact you or becoming brave enough to do it. He had asked to see you and you’d politely informed him that it would have to wait until after the Prom meeting tomorrow.

After a sulking face emoji, you’d relented and told him that you’d go straight to him from R.A.D.

Now you sat in your room staring blankly at your homework, that wasn’t getting done, reflecting on a hectic day and swinging a pen between your fingers, tapping it on the desk.

You decided absentmindedly that perhaps a cup of tea would help.

_‘If all else fails my dear, there is always tea and toast.’_ , your grandmother’s words echoed back to you in your own internal voice.

The goldfish plushie sat on the tea station blankly staring at you while you made your drink, an idea caught you as you looked at it. Levi had a lot of work to do, but relationships of any kind take work on both sides, so you felt like this might help.

You moved the little fish to your desk, and placed it looking forlornly down at your empty question paper. You snapped a photo and sent it to Levi, along with the caption: Even Henry’s Henry 2.0 thinks these questions blow.

Nestling the plushie safely back on its perch among the tea station, you return to your desk with a freshly brewed cup in hand. Although you weren’t sure why you did, you knew you’d only continue to stare at your blank sheet.

Barely a minute had passed by when a careful knock on your door announced Asmo’s arrival. You didn’t leave your chair or turn from your desk, feigning interest in your homework.

“Darling! You have all week to do that, forget about it and pay **me** some attention. Please?”, The demon wrapped his arms around your shoulders from behind and leaned forward enough for you to see his playful but sulking expression.

“Please?”, you queried, “Since when does the avatar of lust have to beg for attention?”.

He released you to drag a seat from the table to sit at, but not before poking his tongue out at you. “I’ll have you know, you’re the only person I ever say ‘please’ to.”, he drawled as he sat down.

He crossed his arms and looked at you with caution, “Now, I believe you promised me, that you’d tell me what happened yesterday.”.

“I did no such thing… I told you that I would **discuss things**.”, You took a sip from your tea as you turned your desk chair to face his.

He frowned, then waved his hand dismissively, “That is a devious technicality, have you been learning too much from our lower demons?”.

You laugh and cross your legs to lean forward and wink at him. _‘About time he had to be on the receiving end.’._

“Certainly not. In the human world we call that lawyering our way out of a situation.”, your eyes settled on his as they began to twinkle, he chuckled back at you.

“Lawyers, lower demons… same thing.”, he tittered. He rested his chin on his hand and tapped his fingers against his cheek, “I really do think you need to share what happened though. Beel seemed very concerned.”.

You sigh, “Beel doesn’t even know the whole truth yet – and I forbid you to tell anyone once you know.”, you tap his shoulder to punctuate the last part of that statement.

Asmo regarded you carefully, then placed one of his hands on your knee, “If it’s this serious, I wouldn’t dream of it.”.

“You also have to promise me you won’t lose your temper, or attack anyone.”, you breathe out slowly. His eyebrows shoot up, “Oh. Now, that I can’t promise.” He responded flatly.

“I’m serious. There was no lasting harm done, and I want to deal with it myself.”, you glare at him.

He sighs slowly and leans back in his chair, “Fine. I promise I won’t attack any ridiculously childish brothers of mine. I can’t guarantee I won’t lose my temper for a while though.”.

Drinking down the rest of your tea as if it had been Dutch courage, you watch him over the rim of the cup. He doesn’t move, or add anything else to his statement, so you discard your empty cup on your desk and look at him with tenacity.

“Asmo, before you’d even left Levi was already in his demon form.”, you started carefully, since the demon in front of you sat still without dropping his expression, you continued. “He was angry about you teasing him at first I’m sure. But it quickly turned into him ranting about how things weren’t fair. He said some very insulting things and implied that I’d been less than virtuous around you and Beel.”.

Now Asmo’s face was starting to sour. But, you’d started now and you couldn’t stop the words leaving your mouth as it felt like an unloading of guilt, “He pinned me, and like an idiot I yelled back at him. He made me angry and I never back down when people say such horrible things about me. It was stupid of me, I probably made him worse.”.

The normally pleasant mannered demon watching you was looking rather murderous now, but didn’t interrupt you as you continued. “Before I knew it, I was engulfed by him and he was kissing me. I was panicking too much to command him to stop. But somehow, even me speaking the words were enough to make him release me and glimmer back.”.

You swallowed slowly and wrung your hands in your lap. “He was immediately guilty, and apologised. The only reason Beel is involved is because I had a panic attack in the gym later… he doesn’t know why.”.

  
Asmo shot to his feet and turned away from you.

You look at the floor and quietly lament, “I was reckless, and stupid, and now I need to tell Beel because he’s figured something out for himself. I‘m scared to worry him.”

You could see his wings glimmering into place and he spoke tersely, clearly attempting to control his temper. “You accepted his apology?”.

You sigh again, it was beginning to feel like you do that too often, “Immediately.”, you conceded that that was dumb too. “I wasn’t thinking. But… I’ve thought about it now, I can’t leave this broken. And he needs to fix it too.”.

Asmo’s hands were at his sides clenching into fists and his wings flicked back and forth in irritation. You noted though, that you couldn’t see his horns yet, and he hadn’t changed his clothes.

You were watching his wings move when he spoke again. “If you accept it, I will too. I promised you I wouldn’t attack anyone… but you need to know that if that happens again, I’m going to rip him limb from limb, and probably feed his own intestines to him.”.

He turns to face you in time to see you wince at the image that produced, so adds, “Trust me, if anyone else finds out, I will be the least of his worries.”.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better about you hacking his limbs off?”, you question dryly. His eyes flicker down to you, you notice that most of their gold tone was missing, and the dark pink made you slightly uncomfortable.

He flicks his wings again but uncurls his fists, “Yes. Actually. I’m sorry, I forget that humans can be squeamish.”.

“I’m not squeamish.”, you defend yourself.

He raises a brow at you, “I’m going to ask you a question… and I need you to tell me the truth. Don’t forget I’ll know if you lie.”.

You looked at him confused, “But…You can’t detect lies?”, the question hung in the air for a while before he leaned down to your level, in order to look into your eyes.

“I might not be able to charm you, but trust me, I’ll still know if this is the truth when you answer.” His words made you shiver, but you nod, carefully avoiding allowing his hair to touch your face.

“Did he really stop?”, Asmo ground out the words in a deep voice bordering a growl, you could tell it was taking a lot of effort for him to not fully transform and lose his cool.

You knew what he was implying now, and you looked him dead in the eye when you responded, “Yes.”.

It was a simple word, spoken in a fraction of a second, but it obviously hit its mark as Asmo immediately glimmered away his wings.

There had been a heavy atmosphere in the room that you didn’t notice until it lifted.

You slumped forward and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, “I’m sorry, I was stupid, I should have left as soon as you did. I didn’t realise how bad it was until later. I was so dumb.”.

He stiffened again but his voice was soft when he replied, “Don’t you dare apologise darling! This wasn’t your fault.”, he moved his arms forward to circle them around your waist and held you gently with his chin resting on your shoulder, like yours was on his. “Now, lets get to fixing this so that it won’t happen again.”. He squeezed you reassuringly.

Asmo stayed leaning down to you, letting you take strength from his embrace until you felt ready to move. When you released your arms from around him, he did the same and returned to his seat. You watched him settle into the chair, and tried to sit more comfortably in your own.

“You know that you’re going to have to talk about boundaries with him, don’t you?”, he spoke softly, although with an air of certainty, as though he already knew that you did.

You nod, “I agreed to meet him tomorrow. I know he didn’t mean it, he looked so ashamed.”.

“Hmm…Well, whether he meant it or not, I hope you make him grovel.”, Asmo almost bit out the words, and you thought there was an irony in the fact that you’d thought that very same thing yourself. Though honestly, you had no idea what it was you felt Levi had to do to make it up to you. You nod again.

Levi wasn’t your only problem though, and really that’s why you’d agreed to let Asmo in on your thoughts. You’d agreed to meet him this evening and hoped that he can shed some light on everyone’s unusual behaviour recently.

So, with a deep breath, and trepidation lacing your voice you lay yourself out there. “I need your help though. Levi was just the icing on the cake of a very weird weekend. Everything has been so strange since Friday morning, and I don’t understand what made things change.”.

The man opposite you looked curious to say the least, he allowed a smile to tug at one side of his mouth as he responded in earnest, “You’re going to need to expand on that if I’m to know what you’re talking about.”.

“Why is everyone behaving so odd?”, you questioned. “People stop talking when I enter a room. You’re all staring at me all the time. Satan, Belphie, and even you, have been saying odd things that you won’t explain the reasoning of.”. You looked hopeless as you tagged onto the end, “And, poor Beel has had to literally catch me when I fall, without even knowing why.”.

Asmo was practically sparkling as mischief crossed his eyes and he chuckled.

You were irritated that he found this amusing. He saw you frown and waved his hands dramatically, “Oh darling, really? They aren’t silent for a bad thing. You stun them with your beauty. You know… that Green shirt did wonders for your complexion… and figure”.

You stared at him in disbelief. You opened your mouth to respond but nothing came out.

He prodded your forehead to snap you out of your stupor, “You aren’t seriously telling me that you didn’t know everyone is attracted to you, are you? You caught my brothers’ eyes the second you stepped in front of us on your first day.”.

“But I’m just a stupid human.” You stutter out eventually.

He raises a brow at you, “No, that’s just Mammon’s ridiculously bad defence mechanism.”, He prods you again. “You’re beautiful, charming, and your soul is more alluring than I could ever explain to you… You’re almost as attractive as me.”, he chuckles with a wink.

You flush, so much praise was bordering on sickening. You look at him carefully, you can’t see any signs of deception in his expression. He even looks as though he is excited now. “What?...What changed?” you asked slowly.

He looks thoughtful for a moment before voicing his opinion clearly, “You were off limits. It would have been like taking advantage of a vulnerable kitten. Demons can manipulate humans so easily. Deavolo would have had us murdered if anything had happened to you.”.

He paused and smiled brightly, “But now? You stood up against Lucifer. You survived a direct hit. You had the audacity to refuse a pact with Satan. You are immune to my charm, and yet dragged my power out like it was second nature, when you’d been faced with Henry 1.0. You even helped Belphie repair relationships with us after everything that happened to you. You’re stronger than any human I’ve ever met… you even rival Solomon. Now, we know you can handle us. Some of us realised sooner than others I guess.”.

Asmo had a wistful expression as he spoke, his eyes had dropped back to the warmth of that beautiful molten rose gold that you’d seen him direct at you before.

You had listened to his reasoning carefully but found yourself sitting in a subdued cynicism. In reality, you couldn’t contest anything he said.

You **had** done all those things, but listening to it described like that, it was hard to believe that that had been you. It dawned on you that you have zero self-preservation instincts.

The demon sat with you was wearing an enchanting smile as he quietly waited for all of this to sink in for you.

“What do I do now?”, you asked with an air of wonder.

He laughed again.

“As many men as you like.”, he teased, his usual playful lilting quality had returned to his voice. 

You glared at him, “I’m being serious!” you scolded.

“Darling… So was I.”, Asmo quipped back quickly. He tilted his head and looked at you curiously. “I believe humans explain this as: The ball being in your court. I guarantee if you act on that desire I’ve seen in you more than once, no one will resist.”.

Your eyes widen at his suggestion and you cover your face as your cheeks blush furiously, you can feel it creeping down into your neck. Embarrassment settled around you like fine rain; The kind that you could barely see, but that still managed to get you soaked, regardless of how fast you try to walk out of it.

You were happy that you finally had an understanding of why things were changing so rapidly, although you had no idea what to do with this new information.

You also felt a bit dumb for having not figured it out on your own… it was so obvious.

_‘What the fuck would Elizabeth have done with seven Darcys?’_


	12. From shower to bathtub thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC musses over Asmo's words, accidentally makes a date, and begins to repair things with her otaku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't feel like we need any trigger warnings in this chapter. I'm sorry if I missed any though and will be happy to edit notes if needed.
> 
> There is a slight game spoiler though, I used the first part of Satan's phone call: Wake-up Call (Although if you have reached chapter 17 you should have already had this by now).

Your D.D.D. rang out into the quiet room around you. The lanterns had already resumed their soft morning glow, and the ringing intrusion into your sleep had you groggily answering it with irritation.

“Ugh. Do you know what time it is?”, you grumbled into the receiver.

There is a fumbling on the other end of the call, and you can faintly hear Satan’s voice. “Hmm. What?”.

“Can you hear me?”, you ask wearily.

Satan’s voice is clearer now, but he’s speaking very slowly. “Why am I on the phone with you? Oh, oooh I’m sorry. I called you by accident.”.

You’re amazed that he actually sounds drowsier than you feel. “I wanted to turn off my alarm, how did I end up with you on the phone?”.

“Were you still sleeping?”, you put the suggestion out there, even though he still sounds as if he is asleep right now.

“Yeah… I ended up going to bed rather late last night. I’m so sleepy.”, you’re surprised by Satan’s honesty despite his tired voice.

There’s a crash on the other end of the line.

“Are you okay?”, you hurriedly shoot out of your own bed in case you need to rush to his room. Your panicking is annulled by him laughing at the other end of the phone.

“I just fell out of bed.”, he confessed.

You roll your eyes before answering, “Are you hurt?”.

“No… Umm maybe?”, he pauses, “Nah, I’ll be okay.”

You sigh, he must have heard you because he clears his throat and adds, “I’m sorry I ended up calling you for nothing. Although, I have to admit hearing your voice first thing in the morning isn’t a bad way to start my day.”.

_‘Oh. That was unexpected.’,_ you feel a small flutter in your chest. You supress it and calmly answer, “Thank you. I think?... anyway, it’s nice to talk to you too.”.

You hear a faint shuffling on the other end of the line again. “Actually… I did have something to ask.”, He starts clearly, you notice he sounds much more awake now. Much like you, after you’d darted out of bed. “I didn’t get a chance to share the music score I found with you. Would you like to join me to hear it?”.

“Of course.”, you answer immediately, and cursed yourself hoping you didn’t sound over eager. “Oh… but when? I’m sorry I’m pretty busy today.”.

Unphased Satan responded coolly, “I have research planned tomorrow. How about Thursday evening?”.

You smile to yourself as you happily accept, “Sure. It’s a date.”.

“It’s a date?”, he questioned the common human saying. “Would you like it to be?”.

_‘Shit.’_

That fluttering you’d supressed earlier rushed back with a vengeance and you’re grateful that he can’t see you now, you’re sure you are blushing.

“It’s just a phrasing.”, you fluster, “But…umm. Yes? If that’s okay with you?”.

_‘Casanova would be mortified – clearly I didn’t learn anything from my own damn movies.’_

You feel like you’re speaking less cohesively than Satan had when he was still asleep. You squeeze your eyes shut and pinch the bridge of your nose. _‘Idiot.’._

Your concern seemed unfounded though when he answers brightly. “I’d like that. It’s a date then. Six pm Thursday? I can meet you in the library.”.

You let out a nervous breath you didn’t know you’d been holding and smile. “Sounds great.”, You pause, “So…I’ll see you at breakfast soon.”.

“Hmm yes. See you soon. Until then, goodbye.”. His voice was pleasant as he answered, and you thought that perhaps he was smiling too. You share your own goodbye and hang up the call.

You swiped through the apps on the device to switch off your own alarm, since you were awake now, you might as well start your day.

You quickly make your bed, before padding into your bathroom.

Discarding your pyjamas into the laundry basket, you turn on the water in your shower and let it warm while you brush out your hair. You flicked on a curious looking device near to your sink, which you had learned early on was the devildom’s equivalent to a radio, you’d been grateful that Levi had shown you how to set it to play human music for you.

You hummed to yourself as you stepped into the shower. The water helped to shake off any residual tiredness in your muscles as it trailed its way along your skin. You had a brief flash back to Beel stepping out of your shower with nothing but your tiny towels to cover himself. Water trailing over him then as it was now on you.

_‘Holy shit. Behave yourself.’_

You shook away the image, you had literally just made a date with one brother and were crudely thinking about another, in your shower. While Asmo’s words echoed in your head too: ‘As many men as you like’. It brought the image of his enchanting eyes back to your mind. Was he really right? Had they all been holding back for the sake of you having been vulnerable?

You’d shunned his implication at the time. Now though, you felt an odd sense of freedom that at least allowed you to entertain the idea of not needing to resist absolutely everyone.

_‘Had I really been resisting though… or was I just oblivious?’._

You mused over the idea that it had possibly been too long since you’d last intimately been with a man. Maybe your brain was going crazy because it had been too long between orgasms.

You pushed away the idea again. You’re far from chaste so you don’t normally shy away from vulgar thoughts, but you also feel like it’s a little too simple to be blaming things on a gap in sexual endeavours.

_‘Maybe you’re going crazy because you live with seven veritable gods.’_

The thought had been very matter-of-fact, and you marvelled at your own ability to both dryly cut through the bullshit, and overthink every little detail and action too.

You occupied yourself in washing your hair, you’d managed to get to the point where you were letting conditioner soak in, before more thoughts rudely invaded your mind.

_‘How do you separate them?’._

You have to admit you care for all the brothers. If you’re being brutally honest with yourself, you probably hold a romantic interest for all of them too. If you’re going to let one of them in, how do you avoid offending the others? You begrudgingly acknowledge that this is probably something else you are going to need to consult Asmo on.

You wash out the conditioner and quickly wash your skin before hopping back out of the shower. You debate the merits of messaging Asmo while you blow dry your hair. Ultimately you decide you’d ask him in person later instead and hurry off to breakfast.

Breakfast had passed by uneventfully. Mercifully Satan had not made a mention of your arrangement in front of the others, not that you had thought he would. Your day at R.A.D. had been equally quiet and you returned back to the house in relatively good spirits.

Levi had messaged you to let you know that his door was unlocked, and you could let yourself in whenever you were ready. You had whizzed to your room to deposit your book bag, taken out some notes from class that you thought he might find useful, and carried them down the corridor to his room.

You stood outside his door staring at it, like the poor thing had been responsible for the events of the other day, you clearly remember the heat of his lips on yours. You worried that the thought might be colouring your face and took a few steadying breaths.

The idea that being alone in Levi’s room with him, could potentially be dangerous, didn’t occur to you until after you had knocked the door… and as per his message instruction earlier, let yourself inside.

You froze after stepping inside.

The only light in the room was coming from the aquarium and the computer monitors. The darkness put you off kilter. Even with the light streaming in from the corridor behind you, illuminating your shadow in a small rectangular strip along the floor.

_‘Why are the lights off?’_

It was silent inside too; you felt your skin prickle and wondered if you should leave.

“Hey normie.”.

Levi’s voice startles you and you jump when he greets you. You can’t see where he is.

You steel yourself. _‘You’re being ridiculous, Levi won’t hurt you.’_

“Levi?”, you call to him in the hopes of figuring out where he is. There is a faint shuffling sound and he speaks again. “I’m not in my demon form. It’s safe for you to let go of the door.”.

You look down at your hand on the door handle, holding it ajar still. It hadn’t occurred to you that you might have been wavering in the doorway like it was a get out clause for you. “Levi. Where are you? I can’t see a thing in here.”, you counter his statement, squinting back into the room.

There is another shuffling sound and a hand pops up from the bathtub, the fact it is outlined in the glow of the aquarium is the only reason that you could see it. “This way.”, he waves the hand to draw attention or to make it easier to see, you weren’t sure which.

You turn to carefully close the door as you ask more questions, “What are you doing?”.

There is a laugh bordering on a snort from inside the tub, “Staring at the ceiling.”, he answers dryly.

“Ah…Okay. Why?”, you approach him slowly, more because you were worried about bumping into his furniture than apprehension to be near him. Though, the main reason you didn’t want to bump into anything was so that nothing would break, and he wouldn’t fly into a rage over broken figurines – so perhaps they were actually the same reason.

He sits up in the tub and turns his head to look at you. “I… don’t know.”, he shrugged.

His answer was delicate, like he was genuinely trying to figure out his reasoning as he said it. Now that you could see the outline of his face, you knew he had been telling the truth about not being in his demon form. As you got closer the soft light from the aquarium bathed him in cool blue tones, with the water movements sparkling across his skin.

He looked tense.

A small knot formed in your throat as you watched the light dancing across his features. You sat carefully beside the bath, between it and the aquarium because you needed the light it lent to you.

“Are you okay?”, you were genuinely worried that the answer to this question was a resounding no.

He had watched you delicately making your way to his side and was now gazing at you sadly. “I’m sorry.”, his words were quiet.

“I know.”, you answer quickly, “That doesn’t tell me if you’re okay.”.

Levi looks at you curiously, “Shouldn’t I be asking **you** that?”.

“Maybe.”, you acknowledge the fact but continue anyway, “Thank you for joining us on Sunday.”. You watch him as a myriad of emotions cross his eyes. He eventually settles on one and scowls at you, “Well… I had to make sure my Henry was okay.”.

You nod at him, “Hmm, that’s true. And, **my** Henry has been living happily with my tea ever since. Didn’t help much with my homework though.”, you finished with a smile, and fight the urge to nudge his shoulder.

“Oh, that reminds me, these notes are from today for you.”, you wave the sheets of paper that you’d been unconsciously cradling in your hand. He muttered a surprised thank you, but when he didn’t take them from you, you leaned over the top of the tub to place them on the table that was opposite.

A strangled noise from the aquatic demon below you, snapped your attention to the fact that you had, effectively, shoved your school shirt clad boobs in his otaku face in order to do so. You quickly retreated from your outstretched position, thanking the stars that it was too dark for your blush to show.

“Sorry.”, you meekly mumbled as you sat back next to the tub, with your eyes pointedly directed to the floor in embarrassment.

Levi coughed and shuffled around again. “You can’t just do stuff like that.”, he complained.

Both of you fell into silence.

After a while he shifted again to face you directly, the light playing on his face cast a romantic glow to his features and you tried very hard not to focus on how handsome he is. You wondered if you would be able to blame Asmo for your over awareness of the siblings’ magnetism, maybe having been oblivious was better.

“MC, I owe you a true apology.”, he paused to clear his throat, “I have no excuses. I never want to hurt you, and I’m sorry.”.

You watched him piece together his words delicately, like he was afraid they would break you. You wanted to touch him reassuringly, but you also didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. You aren’t used to people shying away from touch as much as he does, and it is a difficult thing for you to know how to balance.

Luckily, he didn’t allow you to fall back into silence and continued speaking carefully.

“I’m sorry I scared you. Asmo’s tricks aren’t your fault. Once I was in a rage though, it was like berserker mode and I just fuelled it with everything that had been building up for me for ages. I shouldn’t let these things fester, I know that.”.

There was a brief fizzle of magic around your pact as he spoke, and a wave of regret washed over you so strongly that it made you feel sick. It went away just as quickly as the magic. Levi looked like he was praying you’d understand, and you wondered if actually, he was the one who was about to break.

You took a breath and opened your mouth to speak, but he interrupted before you could get any words out. “It doesn’t excuse what I did. I would understand if you never wanted to speak to me again. But… you’re here, and I don’t know if I deserve that.”.

“Maybe not. But, I forgive you anyway. So you’d better get used to that fact.”, you answered him instantly and with finality.

You’d intended to extract grovelling, but the emotions that had just hit you like a tidal wave washed away that need in their path. Your natural caring nature took over, you knew you were being too soft on him, but you also knew you had no hope of holding your distance either.

You stared him down daring him to question your reasoning, instead he dropped his eyes away from you and mumbled under his breath, “Henry 2.0 likes you, he’s always right and I never should have worried that you wouldn’t stay my true friend.”.

A weight shifted off your conscience that probably wasn’t even yours to be carrying in the first place. The lighter feeling made your reserve crack and you threw your arms around his shoulders to hug him.

He froze instantly.

_‘Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.’_

You’re here now, so you might as well make it worth it.

“Exactly!” you exclaim and squeeze him tightly, “I should make you beg forgiveness, but I think I’ll just take payment in the form of you turning up to everything I invite you to for the next month… oh, and you have to work harder on understanding you need to share.”.

Levi didn’t answer you, and since he didn’t attempt to push you away either you didn’t let him go. A couple of seconds after you stop speaking you feel his shoulders relax and he nervously wraps his arms around your back. “The Lord of Shadows is grateful for a second chance. I won’t let you down.”, he whispered into your ear.

In the world of Levi this was huge progress, and you felt more accomplished than you thought you would. You could also feel the warmth of his body against you. It had been a raging heat before, but today it was a comforting warmth, like ocean waves on the beach. You took a mental snapshot before he finally reached his limit and pulled away from you.

As he sat upright you could see clearly that the tension had left his face, and you couldn’t help but smile at him. He returned your expression with a light giggle, the sound made you feel fortunate to be able to see this side of him.

You figured that this was probably as far as you were going to get today, but you didn’t mind.

_‘That’ll do pig. That’ll do.’_ You resisted the urge to laugh when the quote struck you in Farmer Hogett’s voice. Yeah, the old man was probably right, so you stood to leave.

A look of worry flashed over Levi’s face and he asked quickly, “Are we okay? This isn’t a normie trick?”.

Despite his concern you couldn’t hold back a giggle of your own now, “No, no normie tactics. Put in the work, and we will be okay.”, you look down at him affectionately.

He nodded at you immediately with a look of resolve on his face, “Operation: ‘Practice sharing, and learn how to sustain human relationships’, starts today.”.

His statement makes you both laugh, and you squeeze his shoulder reassuringly as you walked away from him.

“I’ll expect regular reports padawan.”, you giggled over your shoulder as you opened the door to leave.


	13. Theme Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miracles never cease, as the brothers come to a calm agreement on their prom theme.

Today’s dinner was postponed and converted to a buffet of food in the common room, to accommodate the prom meeting.

After getting back to your room from Levi’s, you’d quickly thrown on a dark pair of jeans and a red wrap around shirt. You liked how the criss-cross design flattered your chest, and figured Asmo would approve. Then you’d whisked yourself off to the kitchen to help Lucifer corral Beel into delivering the food instead of eating it.

Beel had once again calmly told you that he thought you looked pretty. You’d enjoyed seeing Lucifer roll his eyes as he ushered you both back out of the kitchen.

You all sat across the various chairs and sofas in the common room. The Little Ds had pushed the coffee tables together in the middle as a makeshift dining table, over which everyone now idly chit-chatted about various R.A.D. related things.

Asmo had been less than subtle in positioning himself between you and Levi, and Beel had set himself up on your other side. You decided that this must be how it felt like to have a security detail back home. Mammon had complained loudly at losing his usual right to sit beside you, eventually settling for sitting opposite instead.

The chatter slowly subsided as most people finished eating and you leaned back on the sofa with a cup of tea, when Lucifer called everyone’s attention to the meeting’s purpose.

“Today we are going to set the theme, and divide tasks for the next few weeks. Did anyone actually take this opportunity to do any research?”, he looked doubtful.

“You know we had a movie marathon.”, Mammon responded flatly. You smiled and added, “Did you manage to catch up on the research yourself?”.

Lucifer glared at you perturbed, “Yes. Most of them.”.

“So that’s a no then.”, Satan remarked, clearly amused. Lucifer turned the glare on his younger brother, but Satan seemed undeterred. “Belphie slept through most of them, but at least he was there.”.

Belphie huffed in his seat but didn’t contest the fact.

Lucifer bristled, but his face remained like a statue, “Perhaps I should ask MC to join me for a one to one lesson.” He retorted coldly.

You weren’t sure you liked being volunteered for that. It isn’t that you dislike Lucifer, in fact it’s very much the opposite, but his presence is very intimidating. Even when he had come to you to comfort you last week, you’d still felt hugely outclassed.

“Oh no you don’t! I’m not letting her be trapped alone with you.”, Mammon was already loudly protesting.

“Uhh… It’s only anecdotal evidence. I don’t think it matters if you don’t see it all.”, You intervened, hoping to put an end to the idea. Lucifer turned his cool gaze back to you, and thought for a moment, he leaned his hand on his chin as he leaned forward to speak, “Well, what if I have questions about what it reveals?”.

You tried anything to avoid meeting his gaze and curled your legs up underneath you, as you shielded your face with your teacup. It occurred to you that by now he was probably used to this behaviour from you, and was eventually going to corner you in a place where there was no tea to hide behind. Probably with very awkward questions.

After a few moments you realised everyone was watching you, waiting for a response.

You cough, “Oh, that wasn’t rhetorical? Sorry.”. You place the cup onto the coffee table in front of you and try your best to casually curl back up as you answer, “I always have my D.D.D. with me, you can message me anytime with questions. That way you get to watch them whenever you have the time… I know you’re very busy.”. You’re surprised by your own answer, it was more logical than you’d thought, and had come out much more smoothly than you could have hoped.

A look of irritation crossed Lucifer’s face. He sat back upright and crossed his legs with his ankle resting on his knee. “Thank you, for your kind offer.”, he responded with a monotone voice.

You suddenly felt like you might have won this match that you hadn’t even known you’d been playing, but that he really is orchestrating that opportunity to catch you in a corner. It felt like you were unwittingly being put into check mate, and you had no idea how long he’d been whittling your pieces away.

Luckily for you, you weren’t given too much time to get into your own head, since Asmo took the opportunity to snatch attention.

“Anyway, I want to know what everyone’s thoughts are. Of course, I’ll make any theme look stunning, but some direction would be nice.”. His voice held its usual chirpy tone and there was no hint that he had any clue he’d just metaphorically rescued you.

“I looked up 1500’s food in the human world. Did you know they made fruit jelly by boiling cow bones? Sounds like our food.” Beel drew your attention as he spoke beside you.

“Gelatine is still made that way to be honest… usually done in big factories now, so most people don’t understand what goes into it.”, you answer him without really thinking. You considered that your brain might just be a dumping zone for random knowledge.

The ginger demon smiled brightly, “Maybe we aren’t that different then.”.

“Hmm, I’d rather not see it either. You can never get the smell of bone broth out of clothes.”, Asmo complained with a faint look of disgust on his face.

 _‘ **Now** who is squeamish?’_ You think triumphantly.

Beel ignored his grumbles, “I found out they did these posh tiny little pastries too. I think it’s silly because you’d need to eat ten at once to get a proper taste. But the descriptions sounded nice, and they looked pretty… so I think they’d be good for a party.”.

“Ooohh, yes! French Patisserie is very elegant.”, Asmo cooed happily, he was obviously already over his aversion to cooking bones.

Satan added to the discussion thoughtfully, “Patisseries are still running these days, so we could use those regardless of the theme we choose.”. He had a point, and you figured that you’d all probably decided that French Patisserie was about to be added to the menu, whatever the outcome today.

“What about drinks?” Mammon asked after the thought. “There’s a million cocktails can be made with seasons as a theme, but all they drank then was stuffy red wine and mead.”.

You looked up offended and lamented, “But I like mead.”.

Mammon looked at you like he’d just caught his hand in a draw, and stumbled over himself quickly to add, “Yeah well… I knew that. That’s why I changed my theme choice isn’t it? Why would I agree with the stupid human?”.

“I never told you what my choice was.”, you countered smoothly and watched as emotions conflicted across his face. Now he had no idea what he was supposed to choose, so that he could look like he was right. There is no logic to why you enjoy teasing him, besides that he looks cute like that, but it serves him right for being mean about humans all the time.

Belphie was snickering to himself behind his pillow, you once again found yourself avoiding the itch to smother him with it. The fact you were finding it funny too, was beside the point.

“If you want cocktails it doesn’t matter which theme we choose. Human bartenders treat mixing like a science. I’ll bet we can get a book on Akuzon that’ll give a ton of drinks named after things in their history.”

You turned your head to follow the voice, was that really Levi? You stared at him dumbfounded as Lucifer voiced the same question that was floating in your own mind too, “When did you learn about mixology?”.

Levi shrugged, “If there is one thing being in any navy teaches you… It’s all the uses for rum.”. He leaned back in his chair and reabsorbed himself in his D.D.D. like the fact should have been obvious to you all, and he didn’t need to pay any more attention. You, on the other hand, were still staring.

Lucifer cleared his throat to draw attention, and it worked, as always. “Talking about food is getting us nowhere. I have things to be doing, rather than spending all night here. I assume you all do too. Let’s move on.”.

“If it is for cultural exchange I still vote for seasons. It’ll force students to learn about the nature of the human world.”, Beel suggested.

“He has a point, I found that humans decorate practically everything in seasonal colour pallets. There are Interior decorating themes, fashion trends, food trends, some even base their weddings around it.”. Satan busied himself making a fresh coffee in his mug as he spoke.

“Hmm that’s true, Winter weddings especially have been popular recently.”, you shrug, “Apparently we are all obsessed with snowflakes and ice castles.”.

Asmo sighed, “I suppose we could also argue that most of us remember the renaissance, so do lots of other students. Perhaps they would get more out of it if we went with the seasons.”. He didn’t seem particularly pleased to be changing away from his previous choice of theme. Yet here he was, backtracking anyway.

It slowly dawned on you that there were now five brothers all advocating for the seasonal theme. Lucifer, Satan and Beel, and now Mammon and Asmo were converting too. You still felt like they’d all change their minds again a thousand times in the course of the evening if you didn’t pin them down now.

“That’s enough time for debating. I suggest a vote now.”, Lucifer’s voice cut clearly through the room. It was more than a little unsettling that you’d been thinking the same thing.

He pushed forward, he had to have been serious earlier when he’d said he was busy this evening. “All those for French Renaissance?”

Belphie raised his hand dejectedly like he already knew he was going to be outnumbered but was sticking to his guns regardless. The fact wasn’t lost on you that he never shied away from standing alone if he felt he was right. 

Belphie coughed and without looking up from his screen Levi also raised his hand. You’re pretty certain he doesn’t know what he has just voted for. Everyone else settled their gazes on you, you thought about giving them a sympathy vote, but weren’t fast enough to raise your hand when Lucifer declared the result.

“That settles it then. The theme is going to be human world seasons.”. His gaze was still firmly on you, even though his announcement had drawn everyone else’s attention back to him. “I took the liberty of looking over the key areas that MC outlined in the last meeting and allocating a team to each.”. 

Lucifer made a quick gesture to the flip chart which still stood at the far end of the room, looking oddly out of place in the plush surroundings. “Dress code and Decorations: Asmo and Satan. Food and Drink: Beel and Belphie. Music and entertainment: Levi and Mammon.”

Levi looked up aghast, maybe he had been paying attention after all. “What? Why do I have to carry him?”.

“Hey, you’re the one who never leaves ya room.”, Mammon retorted sharply.

You rolled your eyes, but still found yourself backing further into the sofa just in case.

Lucifer glowered at them both, “It is not up for debate. Mammon can use his contacts at Majolish for hiring modern entertainment, and Levi understands human technology to provide music.”. He countered them both flatly.

“Where do I fit into this?”, you asked him. Genuinely confused about why you hadn’t been allocated a place. He smiled at you smoothly, “You can be their consultant. I’m sure you’ll have your hands full keeping up with all their demands without needing a task allocated specifically.”

“And you?”, Satan asked suspiciously.

“I will be ensuring none of **you** screw up.”, Lucifer spoke in irritation. “Now, I suggest you all spend the next few days making use of MC’s knowledge to start planning. But please remember that her time is a finite resource and I expect her to still be in full health at the end of this.”.

You gawped at him.

“That goes for you too.”, He trained his eyes back on your face, “I expect you to kick my brothers out of your room whenever they are bothering you too much.”.

There was a general chorus of complaints from his siblings, but he paid them no notice. “Meeting adjourned. Go and find something to entertain yourselves with. MC stay a while, I have something to discuss.”.

Mumblings of annoyance were shared among the brothers as they prepared to leave, except for Levi, who didn’t need to be told twice that he could retreat back to his room.

Asmo placed a chaste kiss on your cheek, “You kick **him** from your room too if you have to.”, he tittered before taking his leave.

Once the two of you were alone Lucifer took a seat next to you on the sofa. Far too close to you for your liking actually. You watched him carefully waiting for his explanation.

“Please don’t look at me as though I am about to eat you.”, was not the first thing you had expected him to say. He dropped his eyes to take in your outfit, but hastily dragged them back to your face. “I actually wanted to congratulate you. I haven’t seen my brothers in such agreement for a long time. I don’t know what you did to them.”.

You found yourself gawping at him again.

He was almost looking through you as he spoke. You unconsciously shuffled away from him a little as you adjusted your posture on the sofa. You knew he’d noted your movement by the quirk in his smile as his expression shifted. He was smiling warmly but you still felt as though he was growing impatient.

You return his smile, though you’re sure yours looked a lot more awkward than his well-polished façade. “They all seem very interested. It’s easy to teach a team who want to learn.”, you answer him in a bright tone.

He responded in an instant, “I doubt that. But still… Well done on keeping their attention. I feel like the prom will please Deavolo, with you guiding them.”.

“Has he asked about progress?”, you immediately wondered why you’d asked that, and cursed yourself. You already knew that Lucifer would have been keeping the Prince up to date, as with everything else that happens in the exchange program.

_‘Any sane person would just say thanks and excuse themselves. What am I doing?’._

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “He visited yesterday and saw your, uh… planning chart. I assured him I’d let him know what tonight’s verdict was.”. His answer was far less condescending than you’d thought it was going to be, and you sat in stunned silence.

“He’s impressed that my brothers haven’t imploded already.”, He added, tilting his head to look at you. Even seated, he was much taller than you and you felt like that was the only way he could properly look into your eyes without you looking up.

You felt your heart racing, and while the speed of your pulse pulled the attention of your mind away, your mouth blurted out, “And? What do you think?”.

He grinned, “I think you should have accepted the offer to teach me one on one.”.

_‘Fuck.’_

You knew you’d regret dodging out of that, you just hadn’t realised how soon. Lucifer moved smoothly towards you, and instinctively you moved back again.

Your side pressed against the arm of the sofa and you cursed yourself for not just standing up, before he’d had the opportunity to move again. His thigh touched yours and he placed his arm across the back of the sofa, he was now leaning over you so that you were forced to lean back and look up to him.

He fixed his eyes on yours, and though you wanted to drag your gaze away, you couldn’t bring yourself to look anywhere other than the depths of his eyes.

“You always seem so nervous around me.”, His voice sounded deeper this close to your face. “Do I intimidate you?”. He smiled and inched closer, remaining careful not to allow any more of himself to touch you.

You swallow tensely. He might not be touching you, but you could feel the heat of him against your face. “Is this a trick question?”.

_‘Why did I ask that?’._

He blinks at you and smiles, “Yes. How very astute.”.

“Then I plead the fifth.”, you answer without thinking, apparently a common action for you with him in such close proximity.

Lucifer chuckles above you, “You can’t use that. You’re not American.”

“That’s ok I don’t think it works for them either.”, you respond before you can stop yourself.

_‘Fucking Christ! I really **don’t** have a self-preservation instinct. What is wrong with me?’_.

Your thoughts were virtually screaming at your dumb arse. Rearing from somewhere in the depths of your mind, that had apparently been cut off by the blood hurtling around your veins.

He raises an eyebrow and drops his face to the side of yours, his lips are millimetres away from your ear, “I will issue another invite soon MC. I strongly advise that you accept.”.

You knew better than to believe that that was merely the suggestion of a man vying for attention. His breath settled against your skin as though it were a bush fire back draft racing over the surface.

It made you shiver, and the involuntary movement was of course not missed by the first born, as he slowly and deliberately sat back upright. Although he did not move away from you. “I am curious, did Asmo give you this shirt?”.

His question caught you off guard and you looked down at your own clothes as you answered in a confused tone, “No. Why?”.

“I just wanted to check that he hadn’t put you up to torturing everyone intentionally this evening.”, his eyes were settled on your chest as he spoke, and you flushed.

You gave a prayer of thanks though, that for once this evening, your mouth had run out of dumb stuff to retort with. You instead stared, quietly watching him, while you desperately attempted to ignore the butterflies currently invading all of your senses.

Lucifer must have chalked that up as a win. He stood to leave without a word and headed to the door.

He pauses in the aperture though, and turned back to add his final words, “The red suits your skin tone and hair, I suggest you wear it next time you join me for tea. By the way… we are all taller than you and can see clearly down your cleavage”.


	14. Four Seasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asmo is as bad an influence as ever, and MC gets an opportunity to properly relax with pretty music and pleasant company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I highly recommend Vivaldi's Four seasons if you haven't already heard it.   
> All four scores add up to about 45 minuets worth of music, and honestly, what else are you doing in quarantine? Give classical a try ;)
> 
> I don't think any warning's apply to this chapter.

* * *

**MC:** Why didn’t you tell me that you can see down my shirt?

 **Asmodeus:** Because, then you would have changed it.

 **MC:** Damn right I would have.

 **Asmodeus:** That’s no fun.

 **Asmodeus:** ໒( •́ ∧ •̀ )७

 **MC:** Lucifer asked me if you put me up to it!

 **Asmodeus:** He did? Oh my… perhaps I should next time.

 **MC:** <(｀^´)>

 **Asmodeus:** Don’t like drawing Lucifer’s attentions?

 **MC:** Yes

 **MC:** No

 **MC:** (╯•﹏•╰)

 **MC:** Fuck

 **Asmodeus:** Yes, that’s generally the point.

 **MC:** Oh yeah?

 **MC:** And what about You, Levi, and Belphie?

 **Asmodeus:** Belphie? Ooohhh that’s new.

 **Asmodeus:** ヾ（〃＾∇＾）ﾉ♪

 **MC:** Never you mind that!

 **MC:** Asmo, how do I do this without offending everyone? How am I supposed to separate you all?

 **Asmodeus:** Well obviously no one could blame you if you chose to be mine. I’m irresistible after all.

 **Asmodeus:** Darling, demons aren’t like humans. We rarely take just one mate, so just have fun.

 **MC:** What about Levi?

 **Asmodeus:** Levi’s emotions are not yours to be burdened with.

 **Asmodeus:** He will always be jealous no matter what you do… It’s kind of his MO after all.

 **Asmodeus:** Now, if you need any help working through that lust my dearest brother left you with…

 **Asmodeus:** Well...You know where my room is.

 **MC:** You’re deplorable!

 **MC:** (/□＼*)・゜

 **Asmodeus:** That’s not a no.

 **MC:** Good night Asmo.

* * *

Discarding your D.D.D. on the nightstand, you had flopped yourself face first into your pillows in defeat. You’d spent that night staring at the ceiling with little sleep.

How could these men be taking up so much space in your mind? You’d never have guessed in a million years that you’d be trying to decode your feeling for seven men at once. No… not men. Seven demons.

All things considered, being here in the Devildom, you probably should have predicted some crazy predicament like this. Nothing about this year is normal.

Wednesday came and went in a blur, so far today had been no different.

Your time had been divided between R.A.D. work, and explaining to Mammon that bringing human dancers to the castle to perform was probably bad for their mental health, and therefore he wasn’t allowed to do it. Lions were also a no; you’d reminded him that it’s a prom in a castle and not a Colosseum.

You’d made a promise to Beel and Belphie that you will spend Sunday with them, helping them to learn seasonal human food trends. It was going to be necessary to have a heart to heart with Beel too, now that you had more of an idea how things lay with Levi, you wanted to explain to him what had happened in the gym. He deserved not to be left in the dark.

Asmo had also sent periodic messages reminding you that you have a million options, and the sky is the limit in the Devildom. He is definitely becoming a bad influence on you.

Now though, you were stood in front of your mirror after dinner, trying to decide what to put on. There was less than thirty minutes until you were due to meet Satan in the library, and you’ve gotten yourself stuck between a pale-yellow sun dress, and a green velvet halter neck paired with white linen trousers.

Both were casual enough for the library, but still pretty enough for it to be considered that you’d made an effort.

_‘Neither would be approved by Asmo. They aren’t fitted enough.’_

You scrunch up your nose while you gaze at yourself and the two outfits on hangers in the mirror. Time was ticking by, and on a whim, you decided on the dress.

You didn’t get nearly enough opportunities to wear your dresses and you always felt guilty for owning clothes that you don’t wear.

The dress had a classic ‘Audrey’ cut, and the A-line shape hit your waist perfectly. After slipping into it and wriggling the zip up into place you looked in the mirror again.

_‘Geez this makes your tits look huge!’_

There isn’t enough time to change again.

So, you grab your trusty black cardigan to slip on over the top. You often relied on it to split up blocks of colour on your chest and minimise it. You also wholeheartedly bought into the old saying that black is slimming.

Your hair was tumbling down over your shoulders, and you’d tried hard to tame it into soft curls instead of its normal unruly waves. Your make up was the same simple style you wore daily to school, you’d thought about changing it up a bit, but realised belatedly that you only know two looks – daily and simple, or glam for nights out.

You check yourself once more in the mirror, still not entirely happy with your appearance but out of time, you decide it’ll have to do. With a sigh you grab your D.D.D. and shove it in your pocket before whizzing out the door.

_‘Yes Boss! Dress pockets rule.’_

When you arrived in the library, Satan was already inside. He’d pulled two chairs together at the head of the coffee table in front of the fire, and you watched as he appeared to be setting up and testing a record player. A tea tray sat on the table next to it, and you could already smell the coffee inside the jug placed in the centre of it.

His profile was striking, and you felt like the image of him concentrating like this, could have been heart stopping if it had been your first meeting.

The fair-haired demon spotted you as you got closer to the table and you felt the heat of his green eyes on you for a second before he clumsily rose to his feet to greet you. “MC, you look lovely. You should wear dresses more often.”.

You smiled awkwardly in response, “Thank you. I have been telling myself the same thing.”. You grimaced, “About the dress that is.”.

Pleasantries out of the way, you had no idea what to say next. Apparently neither did Satan, since he also fell quiet momentarily. He appeared to be watching you cautiously and you let your eyes fall back to the table to avoid meeting his gaze before it caused you to flush. 

Your companion coughed and stepped away from you to smoothly pick up the coffee jug. “How rude of me. Would you like some coffee?”, he asked waving it towards you before pouring a cup for himself.

“Sure, only the one though. Milky, two sugars please.”, he glances at you curiously as you take a seat in one of the high back chairs he had moved. “I know, it’s sacrilege to hard core coffee drinkers. But its just how I like it.”, you shrug.

“Who am I to question people committing sacrilege?”. There was a wicked light to his smile as he filled the second cup, quickly adding the sugar and milk as requested.

You watch him quietly and thank him with a bright smile of your own, when he hands the completed drink to you.

Part of you feels an odd sense of home, the smell of coffee and old books mixed together was like an automatic trigger to relax, after many Sunday mornings spent in rickety bookstores in your down time.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes to savour the smell as you took a sip of the warm liquid.

Satan gestured at the cup as you rested it on the table in front of you. “I recognise that look. Has it been a rough day?”.

“No. It’s just nice to have somewhere quiet to relax for a while.”, You smile back, unconsciously smoothing out the material of your dress that lay across your lap as you crossed your legs and leaned back.

He smiled, “It seems like the perfect time to listen to some music then.”.

After a brief time taken to set the vinyl onto the player, the sound of a string orchestra floated around the room and the chirpy melody was instantly recognisable.

“Oh, Vivaldi. I don’t know how I didn’t guess that that was what you’d found.”, You smile again and honestly wonder if you were going to end up with aching cheeks from the action by the end of this evening.

Satan shifts his attention quickly back to you after your declaration, “You know it?”, he asked simply.

“Yes. The four seasons is very popular in movie music scores. I studied it when I was young. Summer is very popular, but I always liked Autumn.”, you reminisced fondly. You’ve always had an affinity for music and often used it to help your mood. “Have you listened to it yourself yet?”.

“Yes.”. He smiled, “I thought that winter was the most enjoyable.”, He took a seat in the chair next to you and for a while the two of you just happily listened to the concerto as it played out.

You thought about the two of you, sitting here listening in the peace of the library, and noticed that time you spent with Satan was often calm like this. He may well be a seething pit of rage inside, but you’d never know if you weren’t already aware of his sin.

He was very practiced at remaining calm, keeping his composure, and controlling situations around him.

It wasn’t too dissimilar to Lucifer, and you guess that’s just the nature of things.

Your mother had always said that you clashed with your own siblings because you were too similar to each other, you’d always supposed that those things should have meant you had common ground and therefore should have gotten along better. However, Lucifer and Satan were the example you needed to understand where she had been coming from with that old wives’ tale.

All of that said, you are very grateful that for Satan, these things meant that he could bring balance to your day. Unlike Lucifer, who was so statuesque that it could be unsettling to simply be in the same room as him.

Your thoughts were interrupted as Satan asked curiously, “When you studied music, did you learn to play an instrument?”.

It caused you to laugh, and his expression quickly shifted to confusion.

You turned sideways in your chair so that you could face him and answer, “Yes, badly.”. You paused with amusement. “My father always wanted me to play, so he enrolled me with the school music program, I was allocated to the cello. It was larger than me, and I was awful at it. Probably for the best that I gave it up long ago.”.

The spring concerto happily ringing out from the record player came to a stop, and a few short moments later the summer section began in its place.

“Would you consider learning again?”, he asked curiously, leaning forward to pick up his coffee.

You shrug, “Probably not. I’ll just stick to enjoying music created by other people who know what they are doing. Unlike me.”.

You laugh at the idea of you creating music.

You follow his lead and collect your cup to drink some more of your coffee, it’s rapidly cooling now, but you have to admit that that is how you are used to drinking coffee anyway - due to your work. When you place it back down you decide that it is your turn to ask questions, “What about you? Did you learn to play?”.

Satan looked at you as though the thought had never crossed his mind before.

“There was talk from Asmo of us forming a band once, but I spend most of my time reading. I don’t know if I could spare enough time from my researching to dedicate to an instrument.”. He answered you thoughtfully, placing his now empty cup back on the table.

“Is there anything you think you would pause your studies to spare time for?”, you ask on reflex to his statement.

He raises an eyebrow and places his hand to his chin while he considers his answer. “Well… I’m enjoying spending time with you right now.”.

It takes a great effort not to choke on your coffee and you hurriedly place the cup back on the table with a flush rapidly rising to your face.

You’d thought he might respond with a hobby; you know he likes chess for example. Spending time with you hadn’t even been on the list of possibilities you thought he might choose.

_‘Why is it whenever I speak on reflex it backfires?’_

An interesting combination of concern and amusement spread across his face as he watched you fluster.

“Perhaps you expected me to say chess?”, his voice was tinged with a chuckle as he made the suggestion.

Smooth as ever, the only response you can muster is, “Ah… Yes.”.

He chuckles again, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard. This genuinely is pleasant though.”.

“Yeah. It is.”, you agree quietly. Your eyes shift to look at his face again, he seems like his normal calm self.

_‘Handsome, calm self.’_

His eyes seem more like a deep lagoon, than the usual emerald shimmer, but the rest of him looks like a perfect reflection of the gentleman you were used to seeing. As you looked at him, he appeared to be doing the same thing, it made you wonder what it was he could see in the depths of your eyes.

The two of you subconsciously settle back into your chairs, the only difference to before, being that you still feel incredibly flushed and on its own volition your heart is doing that irritating racing again.

You’re amazed that you fall into a comfortable silence together after the revelation that had just been unveiled.

It is hard to believe that he would consider spending time with you is important enough to put off his reading. But then you were both here right now, and you know he would be wrapped in his books at this time of day, were he not sat next to you in this moment.

You let a glimmer of hope settle in, that he genuinely wanted you to spend time with him too.

You relax and listen to the violins singing around the room happily.

After a short while, the music stilled before picking back up again with the next season.

“Would you like to dance?”. The question had you gawping at your companion who once again was wearing a dazzlingly bright smile. You shake your head at him, “Oh I don’t think that’s a good idea.”.

He places his hand over one of yours in your lap, “Didn’t you say that Autumn was your favourite of the four?”.

“Well, yes. But I’m a hopeless ballroom dancer. I’d have been totally lost if I hadn’t had the help of you and your brothers at the castle retreat.”, you try to protest but he is already tugging you to your feet.

“You survived dancing with Lucifer that day.”, Satan quipped and guided you to the open space away from the table and chairs.

You can’t help but laugh, “Not without a crushed hand though.”. You shake your head at the memory.

“I promise I wont squeeze you too hard, even if you stand on my feet.”, He was raising your arm up to a ballroom stance, and he placed your other over his shoulder before dropping his own down to your waist.

You swallowed slowly and locked your gaze to his, if a thousand reruns of dirty dancing taught you anything, it was that you shouldn’t look at the floor.

Your dance partner grinned and tucked you a bit closer to him before starting to lead you around the floor.

You tried hard to supress a fluttering in your stomach as you felt your whole body pressed against him. You’re amazed that he was leading you smoothly enough for you to follow without missing a step.

You had no idea if you were dancing in a particular routine, and you knew you’d never remember these steps even if you were.

You had no chance of learning anything from this while the man holding you was so intoxicating.

He smelled faintly of leather, but it was sweet and warm. His face looked softer than usual, but no less attractive.

You wondered if this was the first time he had truly relaxed, as opposed to his usual strict control.

“I hope we get the opportunity to do this again soon.”, Satan spoke as smoothly as ever, but it felt very inviting. Your attention was drawn back to his face by the words, “Perhaps we can make some time for you to teach me before the Prom?”, you ask tentatively, half expecting him to refuse.

He trained a dashing smile in your direction though, “You seem to be doing very well on your own. But I’d still like to take you up on that suggestion.”

“Only because you are leading.”, you quipped in return.

You realised that maybe it was you who is relaxing properly for the first time in a long time.

The two of you danced for the entirety of the remaining concerto, and the next too. When the music had stopped you lamented that it was not Beethoven and twice the length.

Ever the gentleman Satan walked with you back to your room and placed a chaste kiss upon your cheek as he bid you goodnight. He thanked you for making his evening enjoyable and promised that your next date would be on a weekend, so that he would not feel the need to return you so promptly at curfew.


	15. A dress for Cinderelly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mc is looking forward to a quiet weekend, but Asmo has other plans. Despite Mammon's protests she finds herself agreeing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the warnings - MC experiences a return to her anxiety problems in this chapter, mostly issues surrounding her body image.

You woke early, feeling refreshed after a peaceful sleep, filled with Cinderella like dreams of dazzling smiles and dancing. You’d finally properly relaxed last night and it had been fun too.

You knew he’d likely still be asleep but you sent a message to Satan before getting out of bed anyway, thanking him for a pleasant evening, and enthusing that you were looking forward to your next dance lesson with him.

After preparing for the day ahead, you walked to the kitchen in high spirits.

When you get there, Asmo is attempting to field away Mammon’s insistence that instant noodles are a perfectly acceptable breakfast food. You watch the two bickering from the doorway for a while before they notice you.

“Oi human, tell him that you lot eat noodles too.” Mammon appealed for you to assist him. He lost his appeal instantly by addressing you in that way.

Which was a shame, the idiot looked adorable fussing about in front of the stove.

“Not for breakfast.” You answered flatly, giving him your best annoyed stare.

“Ah hah! See?! I’m not allowing you to ruin breakfast today by presenting that as your offering.”, Asmo revelled. Something about him looked different this morning but you couldn’t put your finger on what it was. He seemed extra bubbly.

Mammon huffed and threw a packet of dry noodles at his brother, who caught it easily. Asmo still looked offended none the less, and threw it back with a groan.

“I don’t think you’ve left yourself enough time to make a proper breakfast now though.”, you open the fridge to retrieve some orange juice for yourself. “Would you two like help this morning?”.

They both paused to look at you.

“Darling, would you mind?”, Asmo cooed. He flounced over to hug you dramatically. “We’ve been arguing for ages already. I feel like I’m getting a breakout just thinking about it.”.

He pouted at you for extra measure.

Mammon tugged him away from you with a scowl, “That’s enough, leave her alone will ya? We ain’t even had breakfast yet and you’re already crowding her.”.

The somewhat predictable behaviours had you chuckling to yourself as you opened the fridge back up to retrieve milk and eggs.

“We don’t have time for the normal stuff, so you’re going to have to make do with _crêpes_ from me.”. You set down the ingredients and started to search for flour in the cupboards.

You know that human ingredients are an oddity to them, but they also made sure to keep plenty stocked for you to use. They miraculously seemed to move location regularly though.

“Human food. Great. Now look what you’ve done.”, Mammon scowled at Asmo again, but the younger sibling was unphased.

“Oh hush. You love MC’s cooking, stop pretending that you don’t. Nobody believes you.”. Asmo collected the fruit bowl to start preparing fillings. Then ushered Mammon to help you collect the bowls and pans that you will need.

The fruit bowl was an interesting mix of human foods, and Devildom specimens. You class them as specimens since you were sure some were capable of getting up and walking off on their own accord.

Thankfully the brothers had learnt quickly that food capable of crawling off your plate nauseated you, and they dutifully separated it from portions placed near to you on the tables.

With Mammon’s help you found all the necessary equipment, and remaining ingredients that you needed. “What would you do without the great Mammon huh?”, he asked, triumphantly producing the bag of flour.

You thanked him, but also shooed him out of the way so that you could get to the stove.

There was a general chatter for a while between the three of you, about R.A.D. and how their prom tasks were coming along.

Eventually the conversation turned to your weekend plans. You plainly informed them that cooking with the twins on Sunday was your only plan, and you were looking forward to a quiet few days.

Asmo pouted at you, “Aww, but I’ve got tickets for you for the Fall tonight. Please come with me MC. It could be a good way for you to let off some steam.”.

He was an interesting mixture of glamour and domesticated bliss, as he stood there chopping fruit while trying his best to impress on you the idea to join him. “You know, get rid of some of that pent-up energy you have.”, he winked at you with a gleam to his smile.

“No way. The Fall is huge. It’s too dangerous.”, Mammon complained. “Even if I thought it was a good idea… which it ain’t. Lucifer will never agree.”.

“What if I told you Solomon will be there? Two sets of eyes are better than one, and we can keep you safe MC.”, Asmo wasn’t about to give up that easily.

You aren’t sure Solomon is the most trustworthy of escorts, plenty of people had warned you about him. You acknowledged that he had never done anything to harm you though, and if he is there with Asmo surely the two of them would have the same concerns about your safety.

You idly flipped the _crêpe_ that was currently in the pan while you pondered the idea, ignoring Mammon complaining behind you that Solomon wasn’t any safer to be around than the lower demons.

You turn to face them as you slide the completed _crêpe_ out of the pan onto the pile forming on the table. “Maybe you’re right. A night out could do me some good.”.

Asmo grinned brightly immediately, “Perfect. You won’t regret it, I promise. I introduced them to some new dancers, so they will put us in VIP for the night. Obviously… Like I’d grace them with my presence if they didn’t.”, he rolled his eyes at the idea that any club would dare not put him on the VIP list.

“Oh, maybe you can get them to start promoting the prom once we have banners and invitations sorted out.”, you suggested absent-mindedly as you turned back to the stove.

Mammon was staring at you in awe like he’d just seen a golden bar. “That’s a great idea, they have live bands regularly too, we can get them to give us their set lists.”.

“That’s not a bad suggestion.”, you smile to yourself knowing that that was likely to set him off again.

“What do you mean not bad? It’s brilliant! You think I’d give ya dud ideas?”, He bristled. “You won’t be able to get bands that good without dropping my name ya know.”.

Asmo rolled his eyes behind you both, but he didn’t say anything. He fished a pot of cream out of the fridge and ushered a little D to whip it for you.

The rest of your cooking mulled along in the same way; Asmo making flirtatious suggestions that made Mammon feel like he needed to intervene for your safety, and you shooing both of them out of the way occasionally so that they wouldn’t get burnt by the hot pan you were carrying back and forth to the table.

The whole thing gave you a warm sense of belonging that creeped in curiously. It was comforting to watch them slip so easily into their roles around you.

By the time the three of you had transported all the plates and food to the dining room, everyone else had already arrived, even Belphie and Levi were on time.

You thought that perhaps everyone was feeling that Friday energy, and happily took your seat among them to eat.

It was even more curious a feeling, that Asmo easily extracted consent from Lucifer for him to take you out this evening. Unsurprisingly though, it was quickly followed by a warning that he would be fed to Cerberus if anything happened to you.

The day’s classes disappeared in an instant, and before you knew it you were back in your room once again worrying over getting ready to spend time with one of your demons.

You weren’t sure what you were going to wear when Asmo had asked you this morning. Now, you are positively sure that none of your clothes are fit for a night club.

You couldn’t even remember the last time you went clubbing, you must have still been a student at the time.

You’d tried on multiple outfit combinations, most of which were now strewn across your room where they had fallen after you tugged them back off in annoyance.

Every time you tried something new and saw something else wrong with the appearance, it made you feel more crap about your body than the time before.

Some were too tight around your stomach, too low on your boobs, made your thighs look huge, the hem cut in a weird place that made you look even shorter than you actually were, the colour made you look washed out… the list of issues went on and on.

Your patience had long worn thin and you were running out of time.

With a sigh, you shoot a message to Asmo asking if he would like to help you get ready since you were feeling out of your depth. He responds almost immediately, promising that he will come and rescue the princess after his nails are dry.

Feeling distinctly frumpy you set about taking a quick shower, stubbornly scrubbing the shampoo into your hair. You decide that you need to shave your legs, but also felt you would fall in the shower if your evening so far was anything to go by.

So you stepped out carefully, threw a towel around yourself and scoffed at the small amount of it you were able to tuck into place to hold it up, due to your breast size. You twisted your hair up into a towel and left it there to start drying while you got to work.

You complained to yourself about being totally unprepared for something like this.

It was a good idea at the time when you’d said ‘yes’ this morning. Now you’re thinking you should just stick to quiet nights in the library instead.

You use the bathtub to rest your foot on while you shave your leg.

You resent the amount of effort that needs to go into this kind of thing, and wished so desperately that you’d had fair hair so that it wasn’t so damn noticeable.

While you’re distracted with your irritated musings, your leg slips and you nick the skin over your ankle with the razor, causing a string of cuss words to fall from your mouth.

Your temper really was wearing thin now and you’re on the verge of just backing out of the whole thing.

You prop your leg up again to inspect the damage, bending over your own knee to take a closer look. It’s not a bad cut thankfully, but it stings like hell when you wash away the blood and you curse again.

“Stupid fucking waste of time beauty routines. Why do I even feel the need to do this? Fuck society’s expectations.”, you hiss out to nobody in particular.

The cut quickly oozes blood forward again, which you wash away accompanied by more stinging.

You’re now tapping at the blood with a tissue in the hope of stopping it without it stinging so much. But since you are flustered and the shower had been warm, blood keeps rearing back up like it is mocking you.

“Fucking Bollocks! I swear to God if someone could just get me a magic solution to leg hair, I’d fuck them senseless.”, you complain angrily dabbing at the offending wound.

“Oh Darling, don’t undersell yourself like that.”, Asmo’s voice startles you and you jump upright, spinning to face him.

He seemed unbothered by your flustered appearance and pointed at you from the doorway, “You, my pretty damsel, are worth far more than that! I can get a lotion for you to handle that from the witches in a snap.”.

You’re staring at him open mouthed as he stands in the doorway to your bathroom, looking every bit the superstar in his demon form, but still as sweet as ever.

_‘Holy fuck he looks good in black. Ugh, I’m never going to fit in stood next to him.’._

It occurs to you that you have been blurting your thoughts out loud and you slap your hands over your mouth just in case this one escapes too.

Asmo looks at you in amusement. He flashes you another smile accompanied by his flirtatious wink, “Besides… It’s my job to fuck people senseless. Now come on, let’s get you dressed.”.

He reaches his hand out to you and you instinctively take it in yours, allowing him to lead you back into your bedroom. You’re speechless, and embarrassed, and positive that you’ve forgotten how to breathe by the time he turns back to you.

He places a soft kiss on your cheek, it’s delicate and warming, and you are still processing it when he sits you in a chair.

He leans down to speak to you, “Now, before we start, I refuse to have you complaining about your appearance. You’re beautiful, and I won’t hear a word against it. Do you understand?”.

You nod meekly, resisting the urge to reply sarcastically with _‘Yes Sir.’_.

Asmo starts by making use of your limited make up supply to create a look you’d never considered before. He gave you subtle but shimmery eye lids in two tones, and a much darker lipstick than you would’ve been brave enough to choose on your own.

He is very close to you while he delicately applies the makeup, and you can’t help your mind wandering lewdly when he touches your lips.

_‘Yep I was right the other day, I’ve left it too long. Now my brain is short-circuiting.’._

Then he removed the towel on your hair, and you followed his instructions as he told you to move your head this way and that, while he brushed and dried it.

The result was smooth retro curls that framed your face before tumbling down your shoulders. There wasn’t a single fly away and you were convinced that he had cheated and used magic to achieve it.

It reminded you of Katherine Hepburn and you felt like you weren’t even looking at yourself in the mirror.

Once your hair was completed to his liking he gestured for you to stand, took your hand and guided you in a little twirl, during which you grabbed your poor towel that was making a bid to escape to the floor.

He chuckled and winked at you again, “For someone who was making threats to fuck people senseless thirty minutes ago, you’re suddenly very shy.”.

You can’t really contest his point, so you settle for poking your tongue out at him instead.

He grins at you mischievously, “Less of that young lady. Or I’ll be forced to see what you can do with that tongue.”.

You shriek at his suggestion, “Oh my gods, shut up. You’re going to make me blush.”.

_‘Holy shit, if only he knew how appealing that sounds right now.’._

The moment after you thought it you corrected yourself, of course he knows full well how you feel about that, he can sense it and you should make more effort to stay calm.

He appraises you slowly, then grins and flashes you another one of his gorgeous smiles. You feel a flutter instantly in response. “Choose a colour darling, black, red or blue.”.

You respond in a heartbeat, “Black… always black if it’s on offer.”.

“Nice. Confident. I like it.”, His eyes twinkle and he struts to the bed where he had left a bag containing dresses earlier. You hadn’t even noticed it until now.

You considered that it was possible it wasn’t there before, and the Little Ds had delivered it while he’d been working his magic on your hair.

He unzipped the bag carefully and produced a knee length black dress. It was a bandage style and you immediately panicked, “Oh no, that’s figure hugging, there’s no way it’s going to fit, I’m…”

Asmo cut you off with a scowl, “What did I tell you? You’re not allowed to body shame yourself this evening. Now trust me and try it on.”.

He pressed the dress into your hands and practically pushed you into your bathroom.

You stand looking at the garment in a fluster, when his hand reappears through a gap he had left in the door, holding a hanger containing some simple but very pretty floral black lace lingerie.

He called through the opening, “As much as I’d appreciate these being missing, I suppose you need them.”.

You took it from him gratefully and obediently got dressed.

The dress was more comfortable than you’d imagined it would be.

These kinds of dresses are usually itchy, but this one was soft, and it felt supported in all the places you needed it to be, especially around your bust. You suppose it must be very expensive.

In the mirror above your sink you notice small gold detailing, there are tiny heart shapes lining up to form a cascade down your left side and curving over the swell of your thigh flatteringly as it dipped down to the hem, which ended roughly an inch above your knees.

You’d never choose a dress like this, you hated the way they typically clung to all the wrong places on anyone who wasn’t tall and lean, and usually looked overly stretched around your chest and thighs.

But this was so pretty, and you couldn’t help staring at the hourglass shape it gave you the illusion of. You’re also grateful that it was a halter-neck… no more V-necks or plunges after the red shirt the other night.

With a deep breath to calm your nerves you step back out into the bedroom to check for Asmo’s approval.

You startle and let out a little yelp as you bump into Solomon on the other side of the door. His hands fly up to catch hold of your arms to steady you.

After gathering his own bearings, his gaze falls down to your dress and he takes a sharp intake of breath, carefully stepping away as he lets go of you. “Uh… I’m sorry MC. I shouldn’t have been standing so close to the door.”.

All you could do was stare at him; he had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Asmo chuckled behind him, “MC I hope you don’t mind; we are running behind so I asked Solomon to come up to meet us, rather than be stuck in the foyer where Levi might accost him.”.

When you finally managed to get your mouth in gear you stammered nervously, feeling very self-conscious in such a figure-hugging dress, “Y-yeah. It’s no problem. Umm… are you happy with your choice?”.

You step forward into the room and give a practiced little twirl for Asmo’s appraisal.

“Almost perfect.”, he hummed happily, holding out a pair of black and gold heels to you. You had doubts about how long you could last in heels that height but accepted them with a cheery “Thank you”, because you felt at this point that he clearly had more of a clue of what was going on than you did.

Solomon stood stiffly a few feet away from you and averted his gaze when you bent forward to slip them on. Just as with the dress, they were flattering and much more comfortable than you’d expected them to be.

Asmo clapped cheerily when the outfit was complete.

He was obviously happy with his work, and you couldn’t stop a nervous giggle from escaping as he rushed over to hug you excitedly.

He deposits a small black bag with a gold chain-link shoulder strap into your hands.

You swiftly collect your D.D.D. and wallet, slipping them inside the bag as he made complaints about being late, and shooed both Solomon and you out of your room with a flourish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In explanation of this chapter title. My favorite moment in Cinderella is when the mice are getting excited about helping to create a new dress for her 'A dress for Cinderelly.' 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mof0dEKT_9Q
> 
> Here I am, 15 chapters into a story I had convinced myself I could tell in only 10-12. But, I'm enjoying every minuet of exploring relationships between MC and the brothers.   
> I also have a clear idea of how we are going to end this ride... but for now I am happy to chug along with their interactions. (estimating a finish around 30 chapters as of now).  
> I'm overwhelmed at the response this work is receiving, I'm so happy that people are enjoying it. When I write that is my only goal - That people experience some emotion from it and get joy from the experience.  
> Thank you all so much for leaving Kudos and comments, It really does make my day =^.^=


	16. Trance 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fall is larger than MC had expected, but a few drinks in pleasant company soon has her letting her hair down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for those who need them - There is some drinking, some saucy dancing, and some mild violence in this chapter.

You spent most of the journey to the Fall in silence, thoughtfully observing Asmo and Solomon as they discussed spells that were complicated enough to just go straight over your head. You felt sad that you didn’t understand magic enough to join in, but you didn’t begrudge them their nattering.

You saw the beams of the strobe lights outside before the club itself.

As the three of you approached the purple façade you could clearly see that a queue was snaking far along the front and side of the building, while bouncers checked guest lists and took payments for entry.

It reminded you of the large nightclubs that were huge in the 1990’s that became the birthplace of trance, making things like ‘big fish, little fish’ burst into the mainstream.

You’d avoided the places playing the biggest DJ’s, preferring the smaller venues instead. The atmosphere and things that went on inside were much the same, but the smaller ones just felt more personal and you’d always disliked large crowds. Plus the booze was usually cheaper.

Asmo smoothly guided you past everyone.

When you got to the entrance the bouncers greeted him warmly and called for a busser to come and show you to your tables. You don’t think you’d ever used VIP services in a nightclub before, and it was an odd feeling. Part of you felt like talking to random strangers in the queue was half the fun.

Once inside it was an effort not to let your jaw drop.

The ceilings were high, and the furnishings looked very expensive, nothing like the dive bars you were used to at home. The kinds of places where you needed to avoid wearing your best shoes because they would stick to the beer covered floors.

Predictably it was dark inside and the DJ booth was at the opposite end of the room to the bar, separated by a large dance floor. You were led across the floor and up a couple of steps onto a section containing plush booth style seating, with tables sporting cocktail menus centred in floral decorative vase’s with colourful water beads sparkling away inside them.

Honestly you weren’t sure what you had been expecting, but this wasn’t it.

The only thing you felt was predictable about the venue was the extremely loud music, dark room and lasers whizzing about above the dance floor.

The three of you took seats in a booth that had been explained was yours to use for the rest of the night, and the busser disappeared back towards the bar without another word.

You had somehow found yourself sandwiched between Solomon and Asmo, and vaguely hoped that the magical conversation would not be resumed around you.

Asmo watched you as you looked around the room with a sparkle in his eye.

He leaned in next to your ear to talk to you, “It’s impressive right? I knew you would like it.”.

His proximity was a necessity to be heard over the music, but when he also placed his hand on your knee you felt inexplicably flustered.

“There are other floors too, but it’s best we stick to this one.”, he added as the busser who had greeted you earlier reappeared with glasses and an ice bucket containing several bottles of what looked like white wine.

Asmo thanked them with his usual flirtatious flourish and started a conversation before they could escape. For some reason you paid extra attention to the tone of his voice, you didn’t like that it seemed to bother you that he was talking so nicely to somebody else.

Besides that, you also felt massively out of place. The club had way more patrons than you’d thought it would, and you felt painfully aware of being human among so many curious looking beings.

Solomon paid no attention to the demon’s behaviour, there was nothing unusual about it after all you supposed.

He poured wine into glasses for the three of you and leaned towards you as he passed one to you, “It’s human wine, you’re safe to drink this.”. You smiled and thanked him.

In the dim light you had to acknowledge that there was something mysteriously attractive about the sorcerer. His profile wasn’t as striking as any of the demon brothers, but you imagined he certainly didn’t have any problems attracting plenty of women back home.

It was also so unusual for you to see him in casual clothing that its simplicity added an element of novelty to his presence.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to scare you like that, it hadn’t occurred to me that Asmo might not have told you I’d be there.”, He explained with what appeared to be a shy look on his face. “You look very beautiful this evening. Asmo barely needed to do anything for you.”.

You didn’t get a chance to embarrassingly utter a thanks though, as the busser hurried off again and Asmo turned back to the two of you at the sound of his name, “Oh tut tut. You can’t resist talking about me already?”.

Solomon ignored his teasing and raised his glass to the middle of the table, “To a great evening with striking company.”. You happily joined his toast, as did Asmo, and before you knew it you had sunk away the glass of wine much faster than you’d intended to.

Asmo eyed you cautiously, then quickly refilled your glass with a smile, “First one’s for courage huh?”.

He had leaned in again to speak to you, and his voice at your ear made your skin prickle. You nodded coyly and he laughed.

You are careful to drink the second glass slowly, the last thing you wanted was to get drunk enough to lose your bearings in such a large place.

The conversation between the three of you flowed smoothly while you drank, and you became more comfortable in your surroundings as the first bottle of wine eventually disappeared between you.

You politely declined when Solomon offered to top up your glass.

Asmo pouted at you, “Darling, you’re not giving up already are you?”. You scoff at him and poke his shoulder, “It’s called pacing – I don’t have a demon’s constitution you know.”. Your retort was playful, and it seemingly made a decision in his mind for him.

He rose to his feet with an air of mischief and had claimed your hand before you could tell what he was about to do, swiping you to your feet with barely any effort at all. You were surprised by the strength of it as your chest bumped into his side from the motion.

You instantly turn a furious shade of red as he smiles down at you. “Time to dance.”, he announced cheerily.

You splutter out some lame excuses about not being able to dance, accompanied by a faint laughing from behind you.

Asmo only wrapped his arm around your waist and squeezed you to him in response, dismissing your protests but pointing over your shoulder to Solomon, “Don’t laugh, you’re coming too.”.

You turned to face the seated man in the hopes of pleading with him to allow you to stay here with him instead. But the sorcerer only rolled his eyes at your demon companion and was joining you on his feet in seconds.

_‘So much for that hope’._

Asmo guided you through the crowded dancefloor easily, and despite bumping shoulders with a few people, you arrived at a small parting quickly.

He didn’t skip a beat in raising your hand to pull you into a twirl like earlier in the evening. This time though, your breath caught in your throat as he stopped you dead facing away from him and quickly pulled you back against him.

He’d bent his knees slightly to match his hips to the height of yours, his body made contact with virtually the whole length of you. You felt a skip in your heartbeat as he shifted his grip from your hands to the front of your hips, pulling you closer into his as he moved from side to side.

A few minutes ago, you’d been protesting that you couldn’t dance. That wasn’t strictly true, and you betrayed yourself by easily falling into the same pace that the demon behind you had set along with the rhythm of the loud music. It had a typical heavy and strong base line.

Asmo didn’t point it out, but smoothly moved himself to the side so that one of his legs was between yours and lowered his head to press his cheek against yours with a hum.

You thought about protesting, but the feel of his thigh between yours had your mind reeling off with it’s lewd imaginings for the second time today.

Just when you thought you should probably rein it back in, Solomon moved in closely to you and though he was careful to avoid touching you, he leaned down to talk into your ear on the opposite side of your shared demon. “I thought you said you couldn’t dance?”.

You couldn’t stop a laugh escaping you in response.

Asmo stilled for a fraction of a second, but smoothly regained the rhythm so quickly that you doubt anyone but you would have noticed.

You turn your head to the man awkwardly trying to avoid touching your breasts as he leaned down over you, “I think we both know that was only an excuse because I was nervous.”.

He smiles, a look of curiosity crossing his features, “And now?”.

“Now I’m already here. So I might as well have fun.”, you respond happily.

You repeat the thought to yourself and take a deep breath as you reassure yourself, that letting off some steam isn’t going to kill you.

You slide one arm behind you and curl your hand around Asmo’s thigh, and the other up over one of Solomon’s shoulders winding it around the back of his neck.

He follows your lead, finally abandoning the restraint in carefully avoiding touching you, allowing his hands to settle on either side of your waist. His hands are warm, and you can clearly feel them through the material of the dress.

You flush again as the heat reminds you of your current proximity to not one but two men.

Asmo kisses the side of your neck softly, before speaking against your skin.

You can barely hear him above the music, but that meant that you were the only person who **could** hear. The realisation made your chest swell as the sound of his voice washed down over you. “I’m so glad you decided to let some of this out my beautiful damsel. Pushing desires away like you have will eat you up inside.”.

You didn’t answer him verbally but couldn’t resist the urge to grind your hips back into him, though only once, in a circle that was deliberately off beat.

Your response was rewarded with a deep rumble from his throat that you could feel against your back as well as across your jaw as he exhaled. The sound didn’t go unnoticed by Solomon who simply grinned at the demon behind you like he had just won a bet.

Although none of your movements after that would have been considered chaste in respectable company, the three of you also refrained from teasing each other any more than before.

After around an hour you signal that you need to get a drink, you’re feeling very hot and your lungs are burning from the effort of what was probably more exercise than you’d done in weeks.

This time Solomon led the way back to your table, but you paused at the steps. “Is there anywhere we can get some fresh air? I feel like I’m roasting in here.”.

Asmo pointed Solomon to a set of doors that led into a small sheltered courtyard and announced that if the sorcerer would escort you, he would retrieve water for the three of you and catch up.

You easily navigate to the doors with Solomon by your side. He swung them open smoothly and motioned for you to step out in front of him.

The cool night air hit you like a wall, and you shivered despite it being a welcome change.

Solomon noted your reaction quickly, “Are you cold?”.

You shake your head, “Oh. No. It was just a sudden change that’s all. I need to cool off.”.

The two of you walked across the courtyard to a bench where he motioned for you to take a seat, then sat beside you.

There were a few demons outside with you, talking in small groups of two or three, but it was mostly a quiet space. You could still clearly hear the bass permeating through the doors but most of the remaining sounds from inside were filtered out when the doors closed.

“I was surprised to see you tonight. I’m glad Asmo asked you to come along.”, a smile tugged at his lips as Solomon spoke to you. “What made you say yes?”.

You shrugged and answered easily, “I felt like I needed to let my hair down. This year has been a bit full on.”.

“It must have been quite stressful for you?”, he enquired simply. You laugh, “I didn’t think so at the time, but when I think about it now, I guess it **has** been. Yeah.”.

Your conversation is interrupted as a tall, lean demon approaches the bench you’re both sat on. He half bows and extends a hand in greeting.

You dart your eyes to Solomon not sure if you should accept it, but ultimately feeling it would cause offence if you didn’t, you placed your hand in his.

It takes you by surprise when he bends to kiss it rather than just offering a handshake.

You retract your hand awkwardly as he smiles widely at you. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”, he offered the explanation like it was all that was needed.

Solomon is frowning now, and you nervously start to feel like there is more to the awkwardness than meets the eye.

The demon ignores your companion and drawls your name lazily, “MC…”. He flashes that smile to you again, now looking more like a predatory grin, before continuing, “How wonderful it is to finally find you without one of those annoying brothers in tow.”.

You felt a cold shiver slowly creep down over you, despite it being fairly mild out.

Solomon had clearly had enough of this guy being a total sleaze and stood abruptly.

Before he can make a complaint or issue any warnings though, there is a flurry of movement and the elbow of a second demon, who you could have sworn wasn’t there a moment ago, made heavy contact with the back of the sorcerer’s head.

Clearly caught by surprise, he had no opportunity to block it and slumped quickly to the floor.


	17. Trance 102

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solomon is down, Asmo is gods know how far away inside and MC finds herself facing two less than friendly demons alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger Warnings!*  
> I'm sorry to add spoilers here but for those who need them, the warnings for this chapter are serious ones: Violence, kidnapping, coercion, lack of autonomy, graphic descriptions of violence, threat of rape, potentially murder?
> 
> This is a busy chapter folks.

You shriek in alarm, dashing to your feet in an attempt to reach Solomon to check if he is ok.

“Uh ah… you stay away from him, pretty.”, the first demon drawled.

You cursed excessively at them both but no matter how you tried your movements slowed and your body stilled by itself, stopping you from reaching your fellow human.

The second demon was much larger than the first, and his presence made you want to be sick; it produced a physical response in you that felt like your own anger.

The leaner one spoke again, “My my, what a spitfire. But you’re not to speak again.”. You felt an icy chill trickle over you again and your jaw felt tight.

_‘You piece of shit!’_ , your thoughts were practically screaming but not a sound came out of your mouth.

Your eyes widened as it occurred to you that he had at some point placed his magic on you, and you could do nothing but comply to his words. The second demon was apparently amused by your realisation and laughed eerily, “Well, maybe once we are far enough away you should let her scream for help. I do love it when they beg.”.

His words made you shiver.

There was no time to dwell on the nauseating sensation, as the two of them started to walk away from you and the leaner one smoothly commanded you to follow.

You tried your best to defy his order but your body wouldn’t allow you, the more you struggled against it the colder you felt, until it finally felt like your movements were dragging you through an icy sludge.

You willed for your pact to alert Asmo that you were in danger, but without being able to call to him you weren’t even sure you could make your connection work.

After exiting the courtyard and moving a short way into the dark alley beyond it, you’re practically begging inside your head that Asmo can feel you calling.

You’re suddenly pinned by the neck to a damp wall by the larger demon.

His speech is barely more than growling as he presses you against the cold brickwork, “Humans have no place here. I’m going to remind Diavolo that his stupid little programme is treason. I’m going to skin you alive, and maybe let him rape you too.”.

He paused only to tilt his head to the leaner accomplice, “Then I’m going to tear you apart and send you to him, piece by piece.”. The first demon was stood watching you intently, the predatory gaze still clearly in place. He didn’t move much though.

You looked at your captor with as much venom as you could muster into a single glare and flailed your arms against him. He tightened his grip and you struggled to suck in a breath, but stubbornly kicked at his shins regardless.

He laughed, and dragged his tongue along your neck, up to your jaw, “Human’s always taste better when they are frightened.”.

He grinned at you and his face would have had you suppressing vomit if he wasn’t already blocking most of your throat.

The thought drew your attention to the fact that you aren’t sure when you last managed to take a complete breath, panic struck you as you struggled fruitlessly to suck in air.

You’re starting to struggle to keep focused when a hot blur crosses your vision, knocking the lean demon off his feet in a ball of red flames, you feel the icy chill on you lifting instantly.

Then Solomon is shoulder barging the larger demon off of you with more force than you thought he would be capable of. There is a groan of annoyance as you’re released. You drop to the floor, coughing as your lungs drag in air desperately.

You can hear Solomon hurriedly mumbling something, but he’s speaking to quickly for you to understand him, you can’t even tell if he is speaking English.

You’re still wheezing as your chest lurches to drag in greatly needed oxygen, when there is a static surge around you and in an instant Asmo is furiously stepping forward out from a sigil. The portal must have been placed by Solomon. The sorcerer is still mumbling words you don’t understand as he rushes back to your side.

The larger demon lurches back to his feet and lunges toward Asmo wrathfully.

The fifth avatar doesn’t flinch though, and barely moves as he catches the larger demon’s wrist in his hand. Without taking a step he drags the arm down and you hear a horrid crack as he forces it back up into the joint behind his assailant’s back. 

In that moment a transparent shimmering wall shoots up between you and the demons.

Once it’s in place Solomon finally addresses you, as he’s dragging you up from the floor to sit with your back against him, “MC. I’m so sorry, I had no idea it would escalate so quickly.”.

You’re crying in between strained breaths, apologising about trying to reach him but not being able to control your movements. He is brushing your hair reassuringly when the conversation on the other side of the wall catches your attention again.

The larger demon is still firmly in Asmo’s grasp, although now he had been manoeuvred into a stress position with his arm painfully jerked up and his head inches from the floor. The first demon, with the icy voice, was approaching them with a sinister look.

“These humans are mine, and you are insane to think I’d let you touch them without punishment.”, Asmo’s voice held no trace of its’ usual chirpiness, and the dark tone in its place had you staring at him in disbelief.

The leaner demon laughed, “Yours? You can’t even charm her. But I can.”. A sly grin spread across his face as he drawled out the words, mocking you both.

His eyes trailed to you and you felt sick.

Amazingly, despite the tone of his voice, Asmo remained calm on the surface, still gripping the larger angry demon easily as he responded. “I don’t need to charm either of them. They are with me by choice. You, however, will be easy to charm.”.

Frost prickles the wall in front of you and Solomon tries to draw your attention away.

“MC, you need to look at me. Don’t listen to any of that. You don’t need to hear it.”, he’s moving between you to block your view and shaking your shoulders trying to get through to you. But all you can do is stare, entranced by what was happening.

It all changed so fast and you’re so confused.

The conversation rolls on outside of the wall, Asmo is warning them coldly, “You are the ones who ought to be torn to pieces. But since getting covered in blood is quite frankly disgusting… you have one last opportunity to leave here and never show your faces in the city again.”.

You notice that the first demon was stood stock still, unable to move, but seemingly too stupid to keep his opinions to himself.

“She wouldn’t be anywhere near you if it weren’t for Lucifer. You should stick to your witches, at least they let you believe you’ve charmed them.”, he hissed out stubbornly.

Asmo still hasn’t moved, but you can see his pink and black tinged energy raising up around him. You’d seen it before when Henry 1.0 had attacked.

He sighed and dragged the demon in his hold back to his feet, he leaned forward to him as he spoke deliberately, “You. Kill him.”.

The larger demon straightened and moved towards the other menacingly.

“Wait wait…” Asmo called to him, “I can feel all that delicious desire in you for vengeance. I suggest you use that on him. Take out your rage until the wrath is satiated, then cut him into a hundred pieces. Then, I want you to stab your own legs with those malicious claws of yours. Three hundred and sixty-six times. Make sure not to miss one.”.

The sound of his voice made you shiver, and you felt like your heart had stopped beating despite Solomon’s best efforts to block out the goings on, on the other side of the wall.

He seemed to give up on his futile efforts and yelled to draw Asmo’s attention instead, gesturing to you looking shocked as soon as the demon turned to face you both.

You could see his eyes now, none of that warm gold that makes your heart melt is visible.

His entire iris was that dark pink and black that matched his energy.

His gaze doesn’t leave you and concern spreads over his face like a lightning bolt had hit him. He raises a hand to halt the progress of the larger demon behind him, just in time to prevent him making first contact on his companion.

Asmo takes a breath and runs his hand over his face, “Take him outside the city limits. Then do it.”.

His energy spiked again and there is panic stricken shrieking coming from the leaner demon, as he is easily tossed over the shoulder of the other and carried away into the darkness. You can hear him begging Asmo to change his mind as the two of them disappear.

You’re frozen in shock when Solomon allows the wall between you to fall.

Asmo immediately crosses the line where it had stood, bending down to scoop you into his arms. He nuzzles your neck, trapping hair between your embrace, which he nudges out of the way to place a soft kiss on your cheek, before pressing you tightly to him like his life depended on your proximity. One of his hands is in your hair cradling your head, and the other is firmly around your back.

You start crying again and throw your arms around him as your chest shudders. He doesn’t move, allowing you to let out the shock in your own time.

You pull your head up taking rushed breaths, “They hit Solomon, and I couldn’t go to him. I tried. I tried so hard.”, you sob out the words, frantically trying to rub tears away from your eyes as Asmo loosens his hold on you enough to allow you to look up at him.

Solomon appeared in your vision behind him still looking worried, “I told you, it’s all right. It’s not your fault.”.

You notice blood trailing down the side of his face and panic. “Oh my gods, you’re hurt. You’re bleeding!”. You’re instantly snapped out of your own anguish, and you wriggle out of Asmo’s grip to clumsily pull yourself to your knees, reaching for his face. You pull tissues from your wallet to dab at his wound.

He catches your hand easily and pulls away from you looking at Asmo in confusion, “Is she always like this?”.

“Worrying about everyone else first? Yes.”, Asmo’s light tone has returned, and he laughs as Solomon attempts to dodge your efforts to nurse him.

“I can hear you. Now stay still.”, you command in aggravation.

The sorcerer flicks his eyes back to meet yours, and begrudgingly decides that you’re going to fuss regardless so he might as well comply.

“Fine.”, his reply almost sounds like a child sulking. But you don’t care if he is sulking, he needs looking after whether he likes it or not.

You clean up the blood along the side of his face and feel relieved when the trail reveals a smaller wound than you’d feared on his temple. You tend to it, all be it less well than you would like, since all you have, is tissues.

Asmo patiently waits for you to finish fussing before pulling you back towards him.

He pads his fingers along your collar bones and neck. You could have sworn everything that had just happened was a dream, had he not found a small bruised spot that made you flinch during his inspection.

He laments the pain it causes you but ultimately seems pleased that there is no other damage.

You jab his side with a sigh.

“Has the doctor finished his inspection?”, you ask, shrugging his hands away. You’re aware that this weird impatience is probably how other people feel when you fuss over them, but it’s not going to stop you doing it.

“Yes.”, he answers simply.

He climbs to his feet with little effort and extends a hand down to help you get up too. You take his hand without hesitation, and he pulls you to stand next to him easily.

Solomon stubbornly makes his own way to his feet, dodging any assistance from Asmo.

“I think that this is enough excitement for one day. Let’s get my favourite humans back to their rooms hmm?”, the demon waves his hand between you both in a flourish.

Neither of you argued with his sentiment, although you had to ask… “Three-hundred and sixty-six is very specific. Why that number?”.

Asmo looked at you alarmed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you heard that.”

Solomon chuckled though. “One – she refused to look away no matter what I said to her. Two – Three-hundred and sixty-six represents a year and a day. It binds caster and victim together, so not only does it make the spell more powerful, it makes it almost impossible for the victim to break alone, and stops them being able to do harm to the caster in future.”.

“Oh.”, is the only response you can muster as the three of you make your way out of the alley together and back onto the main streets.

You considered that this was once again something you were going to have to push away and process another time.

For now, though, the men flank your sides as the three of you walked, and you were happy to just stay in their presence for as long as you could. They felt safe, and you didn’t have enough energy left to consider otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fall for me was a 50/50 on whether to get smutty or violent.  
> I wanted an opportunity to explore the extent of Asmo's powers though, and felt like this was the best opportunity to fit in a reminder that the Devildom is still a dangerous place for MC.


	18. Processing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC's shock is starting to wear off, and everything hurts. Asmo thinks his darker side is ugly, and everyone just needs a good chat about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings needed as far as I can tell - let me know if I've left any out.

On Asmo’s insistence, the two of you escorted Solomon back to Purgatory Hall. Where he persisted in reminding you that nothing had been your fault, before disappearing into his room unnoticed by the other occupants.

You doubted that he would be able to keep his stealthy secrets in the morning though, with a cut to hide from the angels. Perhaps though, they would assume that mischief is a run of the mill occurrence for Solomon.

The two of you are now entering into the House of Lamentation quietly, not that you are afraid of being caught after curfew, you’d received permission to be out after all.

The silence between you is relaxed, you are just happy to have your saviour by your side. It means you didn’t need to think about anything.

You feel numb, and you aren’t sure if you’re still in shock. So it’s a great comfort to you, that you can feel his warmth as he holds your hand and walks with you through the corridors to your room.

When you reach your room, Asmo steps away from you to bid you a good night but you squeeze his hand as you feel him start to pull away. The action had been automatic, you didn’t think about it, but you instinctively knew that you need him to stay close to you.

He’s watching you quietly with a gentle warmth in his eyes, when you open your door and tug him inside. You don’t think you would ever admit to it out loud if asked, but you felt too shook up to be alone tonight.

_‘I need you.’_

Once you’re both safely in the room you subconsciously lock the door.

Asmo looks concerned as he watches you back away from the door, you never lock your door, and he is well aware of that.

“I’m sorry you had to see that tonight. You know, it’s okay if you’re not okay right now.”, he startles you as he breaks the silence.

He smoothly steps aside as you walk into the room, taking care not to touch you. He is looking at you like you’re a delicate glass about to shatter at any moment after surviving a fall.

You sit at the table, crossing your arms on it and burying your face in them before responding, “I could have died.”.

Your eyes are stinging, and you feel silent tears welling up behind them, but none spill forward. You wonder irritably if you’d used up all the tears that you have this evening.

“Yes.”, his answer was simple, but his voice was filled with warmth and you’re certain you detected a certain tinge of pain too. On the subject of pain, your shoulders ache, and it feels like the bruising on your collar is throbbing at you mockingly as it develops.

“Agonisingly.” You can’t stop yourself biting out the descriptive with bitterness.

“Yes.”, he sighed back to you, his pain wasn’t only a tinge this time.

There are few moments silence between you. You blink slowly into the darkness between your arms, your lids feel heavy and there is an odd sensation like your conscious is partially separated from your body.

Eventually you feel Asmo’s hand tentatively touch your shoulder. When you don’t flinch or make any attempt to pull away from him, he delicately runs his thumb in circles on the side of your neck.

The touch is warm, but after tonight the feel of anything on your neck has you wanting to wretch. You pull away from him slowly, not wanting to cause offence.

You sit up to look at him with a heavy sigh.

“Will those demons carry out your orders?”, you don’t know why you asked. The thought terrified you, but deep down you needed to know the answer.

He cautiously answers, “Yes. They will.”. His eyes look lost in worry as he slides his gaze away to the floor.

You feel a chill at the thought. His description had been very precise. “That’s horrific.” You state bluntly.

“Yes.”

The word was quietly breathed out and you could sense his guilt. Although you couldn’t feel any regret. Like when you had been alone with Levi, Asmo’s pact was fizzling between you, but all you could feel from it was a quiet fear.

“Thank you for saving me.”, You spoke softly feeling as if the only thing you want in the world right now is for those beautiful rose gold eyes to look at you. He doesn’t look up though, mumbling at the floor instead, “I think it was Solomon who really did most of the work.”.

It’s true that you have a lot to thank Solomon for too, but you countered his sentiment. “I disagree. I still owe him a lot, but without you, I don’t think he could have both fought back and protected me.”.

He looked up to you now, emotions clouding over his eyes, “I would not have chosen to have you see that side of me. It’s ugly.”. He spoke clearly and gently took one of your hands in his.

“You did what you had to do.”, your response was matter of fact, but you still tried to inject a reassuring tone into it. He thought for a while before responding, “They would not have stopped if I didn’t.”.

He paused with a heavy-hearted sigh, squeezing your hand gently, “Darling, I could feel you calling me but I couldn’t locate where you were. If it wasn’t for Solomon summoning me there, I don’t know that I’d have been in time.”.

“But, he **was** there, and that was your idea remember? You planned for the three of us to go together so that I could be safe. And, it worked. The two of you together got me out of danger.”, You squeezed his hand back, more firmly than he had.

“You never should have been in danger in the first place, I shouldn’t have left the two of you.”, Asmo berated himself more so than responded to you.

“Bull shit.”, you bit out a little more harshly than intended.

He raised an eyebrow at you with a look of surprise, but you continued, “You could not have known that would have happened, it’s not like I was alone, and in any other situation Solomon wouldn’t have been caught out like he was.”.

“I still should…” You cut him off curtly. “No. If I’m not allowed to talk negatively about myself neither are you. Now… you might not like it but you, nor anyone else in this house, can shield me forever. It might be nice having a seven-man security detail of the most powerful demons in the Devildom, but what use is that if I never learn that where I am is still dangerous? You can’t all take the fall for my choices all of the time.”.

Tonight, had been a painful reminder to you that no matter how close you get to the residents of the house of Lamentation, they are ultimately still demons. They all have dark sides built from thousands of years of regret and pain from their past lives.

You realised with no sense of uncertainty, that when you start to let them into your heart, you are also going to need to accept these parts of them. These shadowy aspects of their personalities that make them who they are, which undeniably… is the lords of the seven rings of hell.

Asmo looked at you in reverence, “I forget just how strong you are.”. Finally, he smiled at you, and you feel like your heart is melting instantly.

You reached forward to wrap your arms around him swiftly, squeezing him tightly you hum happily. “And I forget that you are one of the most powerful beings I have ever met.”, you pause deliberately before teasingly adding, “Not to mention the most irresistible and handsome.”.

You feel a chuckle roll from him as he wraps his arms around you. The sound fills your chest with affection, and you feel like you have finally returned into your own head. 

He stands fluidly, using the embrace between the two of you to drag you up to your feet too. You laugh out a weak attempt at complaint when he bends to sweep your legs from under you, lifting you into a bridal carry.

“Of course, I am. But the princess needs her beauty sleep. Off to bed with you.”, he dips carefully to set you on your bed. Once you are released, he discards his shoes and removes his shirt and belt, then crawls onto the bed beside you.

The fact that he has remembered to keep an item of clothing on while in your bed makes you smile at him gently. His small efforts like this were the details that made you want to let him in.

You’re only sitting across the top of the blankets, but the bed feels luxuriously soft. After the damp wall you’d been pressed against, and the cold floor where you’d struggled to regain your breath, it could have been spikes of straw, and you’d still have cwtched up like a baby kitten.

In the comfort you notice that all your muscles ache, there is a headache threatening your temples, and you are much more tired than you felt you ought to be. 

Asmo nudges you to come to bed. You look at your bathroom, feeling like it is far too far away.

You feel heavy and sleepy and have no desire to drag yourself back up and find your pyjamas.

You hesitate for a moment, and then decide that after several incidents in your towel, the demon beside you had probably seen it all anyway.

So you wriggle out of your dress without leaving the confines of the bed, before sluggishly lying beside him in the pretty lingerie he had chosen for you earlier and dragging the covers over yourself.

If Asmo was shocked by your choice he didn’t reveal it. Simply tugging at the covers to join you beneath them.

He pulls you to him, his arm around your shoulders, allowing you to nestle your head on his. You sleepily talk to him as he lets his hand softly stroke the skin of your arm. “Is it wrong that I think your angry voice is sexy?”.

_‘What?! I swear my brain turns to mush around him.’_

Laughter erupts from him like a shaken bottle of pop and he kisses your forehead, allowing his lips to rest against you for a while before answering, “I suppose that depends on who you ask about it.”. You can feel him softly chuckling again before he adds, “You should get some rest now. I’ll ask you about exactly what you find sexy again in the morning.”.

You feel like he would have been winking at you, were he not pressing his lips to your forehead again. You huff, “Is that your way of telling me to shut up and sleep?”.

“Yes.”, is all he says in response. You don’t think you’ve ever heard him say the word so many times in one day before.

With a sigh you choose to follow his advice.

You place your hand on his chest and can feel his heart beating steadily.

You find comfort in the stable rhythm, and the warmth of him next to you. “Thank you for staying with me.”, is the last thing you remember saying before sleep settled over you like a much-needed gentle escape.

No more thinking about horrifying charms, no more aching, just a quiet peaceful space in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It bothers me when characters do't decompress after traumatic events - though I'd never say this is enough in real life, it's a good start.   
> Also - Levi seems tame in hindsight I guess XD
> 
> Sorry this chapter is short but it's the best place I could choose to cut form here to the next one, I'd like to think you'll thank me later ;)


	19. Care for a demonstration?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC wakes up in pitch darkness, hearing growling and feeling an ice cold chill takes her longer to recover from than she'd have thought. Asmo however, appears to find something to chuckle about in the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for those who need them: Nightmares, blood, violence, strangulation, some NSFW progression.

You could hear a deep growling in the pitch darkness around you. It is so much darker than usual, you have no idea what the time is, but the eerily familiar sound dragged you awake.

_‘I know you.’_

“Of course you do. Pretty.”, the icy voice floated through the room to you.

You couldn’t see him, but it was unmistakable, you felt a wave of nausea wash over you as the tiny hairs on the nape of your neck began to stand. You know you need to run, but you can’t see where he is, which way is the right way, the safe way to escape?

The growling continues.

It is followed by a slow scratching sound, like a sack being dragged along the floor.

You decide that the door is your only real option, and you shoot up in a burst of movement in an attempt to make it.

Instead you find your back flat against the bed and a heavy pressure on your chest. He’s on top of you, and there is blood dripping from his claws as a hand snakes up to squeeze your neck. There is no warning grip this time, as there was in the alley, he goes straight for the kill.

You shriek in panic; the sound is cut off in a second as your airway is cut off too.

He sinks his claws into either side of your neck, and you can feel your own blood trickling from the punctures down to the bed.

You can smell it.

It permeates your pores rather than enters your nose, it’s like rotting flesh already.

The desperation to breathe is causing a splitting headache to rip across your skull.

You pound at his chest, and scratch at his face, writhing from side to side trying to escape his grip. The energy reserves you have are ever-depleting, robbed quickly from you as your lungs feel tight while the seconds race by.

You can feel your vision failing, and desperately will your pact to call Asmo to your side.

You **know** he can feel it now, he told you.

Your eyelids heavily fall shut as you battle to stay conscious.

_‘He can’t be far away.’._

_‘ **Please** let him be close.’._

You can hear that icy voice somewhere in the background.

“No one can save you this time Pretty.”.

In an instant, you can breathe again.

Your eyes fly open, there is still darkness around you but it’s more like a gentle midnight instead of the oppressive pitch black.

You are disorientated, you can hear someone calling Asmo’s name franticly.

There is a figure leaning above you, hands are firmly gripping both your wrists. You continue to flail your arms but most of the movement is successfully fielded away by the figure as they drag your arms down. Bent at the elbows, your arms are pushed to your chest.

As your consciousness slowly settles back into your head, you realise the voice that you can hear is yours. At some point you had gone from desperately willing him to hear you, to actively screaming for his help.

You can distantly make out him calling to you too. But it’s too dark to see beyond the shadowy figure above you.

You realise there isn’t a hand on your neck anymore and seize the moment to buck away your assailant.

You try to stand, but catch your feet in the bed sheets, there is a fumbled attempt from the figure to snatch you back.

The attempt fails; however, the result is that you plunge to the floor with them hot on your heels. You’re swiftly dragged into their arms, and the figure rolls the two of you over so that they take the impact of hitting the floor instead of you.

There is a loud thud and a cursing from the figure.

The force of you hitting him brings you careening back to wakefulness. You stop struggling immediately.

_‘Him?’._

You hear more complaining from him and the arms around your rib cage squeeze you protectively. Soft lips press delicately to your temple, a lilting sound follows the touch, “MC, are you hurt?”.

_‘Holy SHIT!’._

Any remaining fog in your brain disappears in a flash.

“ASMO! Oh my gods, I’m so sorry.”. You try to scramble to your feet, but he holds you firm making soft shushing sounds. You consider becoming still and just enjoying his embrace, but you just threw him from your bed, and you feel terrible for it.

You wriggle until he allows you to at least roll to face him, you’re still on top of him though and when you feel his thigh brush against your crotch the heat in your blush could rival a blast furnace.

He notices your sudden coyness without skipping a beat and chuckles, “My beautiful lady, you are much faster than you look.”. It’s still dark but you’re close enough to see his shining eyes regardless. “Throwing me from bed like that, how undignified for me.”.

“Asmo they came back, it was terrifying. I was so scared that you couldn’t hear me.”, Your own eyes cloud with the threat of tears. He rubs his hands up and down your back soothingly and kisses both of your eyelids, humming softly before responding, “You’re safe. It was only a dream, trust me love, they will not be getting out of one of my charms”.

When your shoulders display your heavy sigh of relief, he lets one of his hands trail to the back of your neck to intertwine into your hair.

“I could most definitely hear you. I have to admit, it’s not how I’d imagined I’d hear you screaming my name.”.

He is barely holding back a mischievous laugh as you swat at his shoulder in retaliation for such a lewd statement about you. Honestly though, it’s not how you’d imagined that would go either.

_‘Wait…he **has** imagined it?’._

You flick your eyes to meet his in shock.

He stops holding back that laugh now, “Darling, I think it took you longer than normal to catch my meaning there.”.

It’s lazily followed by his characteristic wink as the melodic sound of his laughter subsides.

“Have you?”, you ask slowly still staring into his eyes. Frankly, you think that right now it would take a freight train to pull your gaze away.

“Have I what?”, he coos cheerily back at you.

There is a moment of silence while you contemplate if you want to call him out on intentionally making you say it. You decide that you would rather play along with him, for now at least.

You pull yourself up slightly so that you are virtually nose to nose and slowly whisper to him, “Have you? Imagined making me scream your name?”.

“Darling! Of course I have! You’re stunning, the only creature I know who could top you… is me.”, Asmo’s response came out like a chorus without missing a beat.

Just as quickly as he answers you, you shuffle forward touching your nose to his, as you raise your hands to frame his face.

You can also very definitely feel his thigh slide against your crotch as you move, the touch sends a shiver to the bottom of your spine as your muscles contract for the briefest of moments in response.

“And…”, you pause as your lungs rudely remind you that you should have been breathing. “How did it go?”, the words come out far more seductively than you’d planned. You didn’t even know you were capable of seduction; you fleetingly wonder if he is rubbing off on you.

A bright smile cracks across his face and he hums, “Well, you were screaming… So I’d say it went pretty well, actually.”.

You can feel his voice settle on your cheeks. He teasingly rolls his hips beneath you and his thigh makes contact with you again. Although you want to, you refuse to let out a groan in response.

_‘Nope. He has to work harder than that.’._

He lets the hand in your hair grasp gently into the strands, you feel the tension on your scalp but it’s no where near enough to be painful. He shifted slightly and closed the pitifully small distance between you with ease, his lips brushing against yours gently.

You press back tentatively. The gesture was all he needed to act further, and he fully claims your lips with his. The kiss was warm and soft, it felt like a release, yet somehow you feel there is still restraint.

The restraint certainly is not yours though.

You impatiently return the pressure equally, you don’t know where the point is that you change your mind, but you decide that playing along ‘for now’ has definitely melted to just going head long into it all.

Your tongue inquisitively traces his lower lip, and you’re gratified when his response is to use the opportunity for his own tongue to gain entry to your mouth. You both taste each other slowly, before he rolls his hips beneath you again. It causes your chest to heave in a deliciously long drawn breath as your pelvic muscles flicker again.

Asmo continues to explore the soft warmth of your mouth, and though you enjoy the feel of your tongues sliding over each other, your lungs are once again rudely protesting.

You pull away to catch your breath. He doesn’t complain, simply uses the time to trail his hands up and down your sides instead of cradling your head.

There is a tint of mischief in his eyes as he rolls his hips again.

It takes more effort than you would care to admit to not grind against him in retaliation. You refuse to be reduced back to a rutting teenager dry humping in the back of a truck.

Though you aren’t sure if it really counts as dry humping when the material of your delicate lacy underwear is so thin. It crosses your mind that the demon below you is likely to have chosen such garments intentionally.

“Perhaps, I could give you a practical demonstration?”, his voice is softly lilting as he presses his thumbs to your hip bones, curling his fingers around the sides of your hips.

You raise your brows at him, “Feeling like being a teacher as well as a saviour and a doctor tonight huh?”.

He mocks offence, even going as far as to place his hand on his own chest defensively, “As if I could be a real doctor… all those people bleeding over me. Ugh. Disgusting.”.

A giggle tumbles from you and his eyes lock to yours. They are molten gold, so warm and inviting that you feel you could easily drown in them. You will always be enamoured by how enticing his eyes are.

He’s staring at you, a faint fascination on his face, “You’ve been resisting me for months, I don’t think you need me to teach you anything. You could do with how I can make you feel though.”.

_‘Oh yeah?’_

You are sure laying down a challenge to a demon of lust isn’t really a smart move, but you can’t stop yourself. “How you can make me feel? Go on then, let’s see if you **can** make me scream your name for a better reason.”, you press your hips down to grind against his thigh as you say it.

“If?”, the single word dropped from his lips like it had been an insult.

In Asmo’s usual penchant for dramatics, you find yourself on your back in a flourish, looking up at the man now straddling your hips. “ **If** , indeed. Humph.”, he made the complaint as he squeezes his thighs firmly against your hips.

You’re giggling again and you’re not entirely convinced that you’re not laughing in nervousness. Despite it, you place a hand on each of his thighs pressing your fingers into them, sad that his trousers separate him from your nails. “So? Show me.”.

He leans down faster than you’d expected, his lips crashing down onto yours as his hands roam your sides, causing small goose bumps to form on your skin. There is a fervour in his actions, the restraint you’d sensed earlier is now long gone.

One of his hands reaches your breast, his palm pressing into its fullness. The lace of your bra causing enough friction for your nipples to harden beneath his attentions.

Your heart is racing and as if of its own volition your chest heaves to meet his hand, increasing the pressure between you. You both love and hate the lingerie in this instant, the friction of the material is tantalising, yet an unfair barrier preventing you feeling his bare touch.

He adds his other hand to his roaming and is pushing your bra up to slide it beneath and tease at your nipple. His mouth is still hot on yours, his taste is intoxicating, you can’t put your finger on exactly why, but it’s sweet. 

The hand beneath your bra stays in place, you can feel the straps of the item pulling uncomfortably at your back and shoulder, but you couldn’t care less in this instant.

_‘Damn whoever invented underwires.’_

Asmo glides his other hand down your side, careful to only trail his fingertips on your skin, the touch is so feather light that you can barely feel it. It is enough though, to have your back arching along with its descent, trying to increase the sensation.

He easily loops his fingers under the side of your knickers, placing his hand firmly against your thigh and pushing you into the floor, halting the small circles you had subconsciously been rubbing against him.

His mouth leaves yours to adorn your neck with kisses, you notice he is careful to avoid the small area of bruising that he had identified earlier.

The cool air hitting your lips, giving you a strange feeling of shyness when tingling sets into them. You know they are swelling from the friction of the kissing. You cringe thinking that you must look like some whimsical historical paining of buxom women in Greece.

You aren’t given too much time to think about it though, as you feel teeth graze along your shoulder, softly teasing along to your neck, testing to find the correct pressure.

You suck in a breath as a sharp nip on the front of your collar bone makes you whine.

As soon as he drew the sound from you, his hand came down onto your mound on top of the lace of your underwear. You have no idea when he’d lifted it out from them and released your hip, you’d been too distracted by the exploration of his mouth.

The material is scarcely there, it might as well be absent all together as his fingers press along your folds like a skilled sculptor.

You raise your hips to press against him and he hums into your shoulder, “I told you that you could do with this.”.

You can’t decide if that was meant to encourage or tease you, but with a familiar sensation of horniness firmly gripping your brain and core, you don’t think you care which.

The demon atop of you runs his fingers along your folds again, the material separating his touch from you is damper than you reasonably think it ought to be at this point.

“Ohhh and you’re playing along so well.”, his words echoing your earlier thoughts causes you to snap your eyes to his. He is pushing up away from you and you whimper in protest.

He pauses mid-air above you, “Darling, I refuse to fuck you senseless on your floor like a wanton whore in a barn. How brutish.”.

You stare at him, mouth agape.

You would expect cruel ungratified teasing from Lucifer, maybe even Belphie, but not Asmo. You’re stunned into silence.

Your body is stiffened by the rush of cool air that assaults you, as he continues his motion to his feet while laughing, “Oh dear, don’t look at me like that.”.

He extends a hand to help you climb to your feet, but you are seething and refuse to take it. You halfway heave yourself up from your position when he seizes you around your waist instead, easily pulling you up as if you’re no heavier than a rag doll.

_‘Prick.’_


	20. Not Gods - Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC is mad at Asmo's teasing, and is abruptly thrown to the bed when she accidentally activates their pact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like giving too many spoilers, but at this point I think everyone and their dogs are well aware of where this chapter is going. 
> 
> With that in mind, my warning tags are that this chapter is one giant lemon.   
> It's definitely NSFW and comes with all the associated sexiness you could muster. 
> 
> It's a very long chapter (around 3 x the length of my normal ones), because I wanted to include all of the smut in one chapter, so that those who need/want to skip it can do so easily - and pick the main story line back up in chapter 21.

You are unable to complain about abruptly being swept up off the floor before Asmo has you easily over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift.

_‘What the actual fuck!?’._

And, oh boy are you going to complain.

You hate being lifted by anyone, so many had insisted in a fit of giggles that you’re safe, before tripping and having you tumble like a sack of spuds onto the floor, unable to even save yourself as they drag you with them.

You scrabble to gain some traction with your hands to give yourself some sort of insurance against falling, but since he isn’t wearing a shirt you can’t even do that.

“Asmo! I do not appreciate cruel jokes. Put me down this instant!”.

You feel a magical fizzle between you and he unceremoniously drops you onto your bed. You land awkwardly with a thud and curse the pact’s literal interpretation of your words.

Irritation crosses his face momentarily and his jaw clenches. The look melts away quickly though, and when he chooses to speak his voice is curiously deeper.

“There was no need to force me love. I was planning to put you on the bed anyway. It would certainly have been more comfortable for you if you’d let me do it my way.”.

You close your eyes, cringing that your unintentional use of your pact has offended him. When you open them cautiously, he is pouting at you, his eyes seem full of mirth though. You sigh in relief.

“You are adorable when you are mad.”, he purred at you from his stance above the bed. You instantly scowl at him. “And…”, he started, as he leaned forward to place his arms either side of you on the bed, “You’re too quick to assume that somebody doesn’t want you.”.

He continues to mock pout at you as his knees hit the bed too and he crawls up over you, until his face is in front of yours. Your skin prickles as he drags his fingertips up your arms along his journey. After having been exposed to the cool air of your room during the transition from the floor to the bed, you’re awareness of his body heat is heightened. You’re almost painfully aware of the proximity as your heart starts back up a crescendo, leaving you flustered beneath him.

It’s difficult to think straight, let alone try to remain mad at him. In a last-ditch effort to impress your feelings you snap at him, “I’m not the one who cut us off so abruptly.”.

Asmo tilts his head to the side, watching a flush colour your cheeks, despite your complaint. “Hmm. Well, it was to be a hiatus, not an end.”.

He motioned his arm to command your lanterns light up the room, they stop at a soft glow allowing you to see colours without the tint of midnight that had surrounded you both before.

You find yourself staring distractedly into his eyes, you’d thought they were mesmerising before, but nothing could have prepared you for the sunset hues looking back at you now as his hair fell forwards creating an intimate space between you, detached from the rest of the room. He doesn’t break eye contact as he lowers a hand to delicately hold your bare waist. The warmth of his hand on your skin has you raising slightly to meet him.

You’re startled when he speaks again though, and he grins brightly when he feels you jump. “I can feel you’re not mad any more you know. It feels like you did in the common room last week. A small tint of anticipation lacing through your nerves. It’s a very tempting combination don’t you agree?”.

You swallow slowly and nod, unsure how to answer when he can interpret you so accurately.

He dips his head to kiss your jawline softly.

You sigh in response and let your eyes fall closed as he moves his mouth along to your ear, peppering kisses along the way. You’re unable to stop yourself tracking your hands along his sides, fingertips delicately reaching around his shoulders to feel the muscles flexing in his back as he moves along, holding his weight off of you with little effort.

“Are you going to indulge in that curiosity? Do you still want to see what it feels like to have my name dripping off your lips?”, His lips graze against your neck below your ear as he speaks.

The touch sends a spark of excitement through you, causing you to press your thighs together as you respond.

“What if it’s **you** who’s calling **my** name by the end?”, you tease. You have no idea why you can’t stop yourself antagonising him this way, it feels strangely powerful to prod him along.

The lips at your neck press down onto the skin firmly, and you hiss as he sucks the area into the vacuum of his mouth, pressing his tongue to the skin as it reddens in response. You instantly know that its going to be an inviting shade of purple come morning.

When he releases you, Asmo trails his tongue slowly down your neck to your collar bone, “Darling. I was counting on it. But you first.”.

He punctuates the end of each sentence with kisses against your chest. Your breath hitches and he chuckles, “I’ll assume that’s a ‘yes’ shall I?”.

You twine your hands into the hair at the nape of his neck as he drops his head, to press the moist warmth of his tongue along your breasts. He slides his hand underneath you to unclasp your bra as his mouth descends. Pausing to catch your eyes with his, mouth pursed over your skin. With him looking up at you like this you understand why he is able to pull you into wanting him even without his powers.

“Yes.” The word left you shakily and you lift your shoulders from the bed to allow him to pull away the garment.

No sooner than the words leave your mouth, the obstructive lace is cast off to the floor. He claims a nipple in his mouth, pressing his hands against your waist like he can’t get close enough to you. He swirls his tongue around the nipple still hard from his earlier touch. When he nips it playfully you gasp, the automatic response seems to please him as he presses his hips down against you.

For the first time you feel the hardness of his arousal.

_‘Holy shit, how did I not notice that before?’._

The pressure of his length grinding against you has your own hips pressing back desperately. In this moment you feel like his trousers are the most torturous device in the world, separating you from the touch of his skin.

He rolls his hips again as his mouth pauses his exploration of your chest, only to seize your other nipple.

After what feels like an eternity of his attention on your skin, he slowly tracks lower, peppering kisses along your stomach and hips. You feel butterflies in your chest, bursting to get out as you allow your hands to smooth themselves over the top of his shoulders.

“You’re so beautiful love. Your skin is like silk to touch.” He hums into your skin as he moves along. Your skin responds to every kiss as if it were the first touch, with a delicious heat seeping into your bones.

You wonder if it is possible to be driven mad from kissing alone.

Asmo shuffles his position and returns to lay out across you, rolling his hips against yours, pointedly pressing his length against your mound as he crashes his lips onto yours. His tongue seeks entry to your mouth almost immediately and you’re eager to oblige, parting your lips to allow him to taste the warmth of your mouth. Your tongues glide together, and you press your hands into his hips, pulling him down to meet you. You need to feel him closer.

When he notices your insistence, he slides a hand between you, quickly pressing his palm against your mound. He leans to one side, allowing him more freedom to move his hand, while his hips are still able to grind his clothed length against your thigh.

You’d been damp the first time he did this, and now is no different either. He extends his fingers to rub along the length of your folds, spreading your moisture across your underwear.

The demon breaks your kisses now, but only to explore the length of your neck with his lips as he moves his hand against you again. Lifting the pressure of his touch away to remove your underwear with the flick of a claw, too needy for your skin contact to move away and pull them down.

He moves the hand to your thigh, pressing his fingertips into the skin firmly, gripping you tightly as he bites against your shoulder. A moan escapes you, and it’s lewdly followed by demanding whines when he tracks the hand up but stops short of your crotch.

You feel Asmo smile against your shoulder, “Impatient, are we?”.

He teases in a husky tone which causes you to press your thighs together and roll your hips against him in retaliation. The hypnotising sound of his chuckling returns as he deliberately runs the hand up to your waist, squeezing you tightly as he grinds against you again.

You feel like the movements have to be tormenting him just as much as he is you, but he doesn’t seem to mind if it means keeping you on edge.

He trails his tongue back up along your neck. Then presses a kiss softly to your lips, that he lets linger as his hand leaves your side to push his fingers along your folds exploringly. The sound you make when they glide over your clit fleetingly has him smiling again.

“See, I told you. You should let me do things my way, darling.”. He speaks quickly before taking your bottom lip between his teeth and giving it a careful tug, quickly tracing the skin with his tongue when he releases it.

Your breath hitches as he pushes a finger inside you. You feel like he’d distracted you intentionally to draw that reaction from your lungs. Your breathing is shallow and fast as your lungs try to keep up with the relentless pounding of your heartbeat.

He hums next to your cheek, dipping his head to nibble your ear as his finger starts to slide in and out smoothly. He presses against your front walls looking for the tell-tale ridged area. It doesn’t take him long to be gratified by a moan as you tilt your head back when he finds it.

He relishes the sound for only a moment before adding another finger to his exploration of you. Your muscles flicker against him in response as they both press up against your g-spot effortlessly. He curls his fingers against it masterfully drawing more wetness from you.

When you’re almost certain that moaning has entirely replaced your breathing, the man atop of you leans up onto one elbow to gaze down at your face.

He doesn’t stop the ministrations of his fingers though, and even though his actions cause your back to arch against his hand, you still drag an arm over your face in embarrassment.

He quickly moves your arm to the side easily, pinning it beneath him as he stretches his body against your side.

“You’re too beautiful to be hiding away. You wouldn’t rob me of enjoying your lust filled face, would you?”, he coos in your ear before lifting back to his shoulder to observe you.

As his fingers drag harshly against your front walls when he moves, the only response you can give him is a guttural moan that surprises you when it comes from somewhere deep in your chest.

Your muscles clamp against his hand as he repeats the motion and you can feel a familiar tension building quickly, it has been a long time since you’d enjoyed this with someone else and the primal feeling is intoxicating you.

You lace your fingers into the bed sheet and squeeze it, in an effort to balance out the tension. Your chest freezes mid breath while your muscles contract. His response is to happily quicken the pace of his fingers. He purrs above you, “Hmm. Isn’t it nice to come undone for me?”.

Asmo curls his fingers further to allow him to press the pad of his thumb against your clit and you groan, as your muscles start to contract against his hand in pulses. You know you’re on the edge of orgasm, and the next few movements of his hand drag out the words from you in a deep throaty voice, “Holy fuck.”.

You release another moan, “Oh my god’s. Please.”.

You register somewhere in the back of your mind, the sound of him giggling as he leans down to steal your breath with a kiss.

“No love. Your demons.” He purrs into your ear as you groan again.

He effortlessly circles your clit with his thumb, then adds another finger, in a swift movement that you think you would have missed were it not for the immediate reaction of your body. Your hips roll against his hand and you feel him grind down on your thigh to restrict your movement.

He bites your neck delicately, pressing his tongue to the skin that he traps between his teeth as he continues to thrust his fingers.

You feel yourself on the edge of the cliff, your so close to coming that it makes you desperate.

You can feel yourself squeezing his fingers tightly when he chooses to whisper against your skin, “It is delicious, your lust. So tightly coiled. I think you should let it out now.”.

As if he’d been able to command it out of you, you crashed down around him. Breath struggling for traction as waves of orgasm hit you, you’re cussing and clinging to the bed sheet between your fingers as he continues his movements, allowing you to ride it out.

Only once your breathing has slowed, all be it still deep and trying to recover, Asmo retracts his fingers slowly. Though he doesn’t leave your moist warmth completely, choosing to massage your folds as he licks and nibbles his way back down to your chest.

“Your skin tastes so good. I’m surprised that I held out this long before tasting the rest of you.”, he talks slowly in between each kiss. Swirling his tongue around one nipple before continuing his way down your stomach. Despite their previous hard work your muscles still flicker as his breath tickles over your tummy.

“What stopped you?”, you ask genuinely curious.

His eyes flicked up to meet yours while his kisses made their way over to one of your hip bones. He shrugs, “You were enjoying yourself. I wanted to see it through first.”. He gently bites the skin over the tip of the bone, tugging slightly.

It’s your turn to chuckle at him now, “No. I meant, you can feel my desire, right? So why did you wait until tonight?”.

He thinks about it for a while, tracing circles around your other hip bone with his thumb.

“I’m not used to feeling anything other than lust. I feel something different for you.”. He paused his movements keeping his gaze on yours as he made his confession with a sigh, “Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was scared that I couldn’t save you in time, that I realised how deeply I care for you.”.

That isn’t what you were expecting to hear.

You don’t know what you did expect either though. Possibly a statement about how fragile you are as a human. You don’t know how to respond, it’s a bit of a shock to realise this isn’t just a lusty romp for him.

You motion to sit up but he extends an arm to push back down with his hand spread on your ribs.

“Uh ah.”, he tuts too, “You’re going to have to get used to being wanted.”.

Asmo swiftly dips his head and trails his tongue along your folds from your opening to your clit, where he presses a little firmer to make his point. The already sensitive bundle of nerves sparks immediately, causing you to buck your hips.

His response is to chuckle against you while he easily presses you back to the bed with one arm laid across your pelvis. The vibrations of his chuckling makes your muscles flutter and he pushes his tongue into you smoothly.

A cross between a hum and a moan leaves you in a drawn-out breath as he starts to lap away at you. It’s not lost on you that it sounds remarkably like a purr.

His tongue is obviously not as firm or deep as his fingers had been, but the warmth and sumptuousness of the clearly trained muscle has you melting to him quickly.

He squeezes your thigh with the hand that isn’t holding you down.

Dragging his nails agonisingly slowly upwards. The pressure is just enough to sting but not cause any real pain. Your breathing starts to quicken again as his fingertips reach your crotch.

With barely any interruption he guides his tongue forward to your clit, while two of his fingers slide back into you. The groan that leaves you is such a deep tone you aren’t even convinced that the sound was made by you.

Despite his hold along your pelvis you still arch your upper back. The deeper intrusion is not unwelcomed, however your unable to hide how much your body wants it as you squeeze against him in an instant.

The demon waits for you to relax back to his touch, letting your initial response subside before he starts to curl his fingers against your front wall. He easily finds the engorged spot inside you quicker than before, and the sensation is stronger too.

He effortlessly starts to build your next orgasm and you feel like it’s unfair that he can ignite you so easily. Although your hips are unable to move, you realise that your body is still writhing hard against him.

The strength it takes to hold you there reminds you of how much power he hides beneath his charming demeanour. The thought lingers in your mind, making you feel even more turned on by the potential of it.

You’re abruptly dragged from the thought as he sucks your clit into his mouth, flicking his tongue against it as the hold he has on it causes blood to swell it further.

The feeling coupled with the insistence of his fingers, draws a coarse groan from you. You’re careening to that edge again, but he holds you there. Over sensitive and carefully caressed in a rhythmic pattern designed to draw out your pleasure for as long as he can.

Tears prick your eyes and your voice is hoarse when you start cursing. The tension in the muscles around your pelvis is bordering on painful when you push your hands down into his hair, trapping locks in your fists as your breath falters again.

Asmo continues the excruciatingly slow ministrations of his fingers, taking the time to look back up to you while he speaks.

“Love I think you’re holding out on me.”, he presses his fingers harder against your walls and lazily licks along your folds before adding, “I believe there was a promise of calling my name.”.

You want to cry out as he nips the bud of your clit. But the stubborn streak in you has you timing your breath in order to retort, “It wasn’t a promise. I told you to see if you could make me say it.”.

“Ah yes. You did.”. His response is slow and deliberate as he watches you roll your hips when he releases them.

“Let’s see if it sounds as luscious as you taste, hmm?”. His hand easily follows the movement of your hips as you push back against him.

His tongue finds your clit again and flicks lightly over it as he starts to fuck you with his fingers. You can feel his knuckles pressing at your crotch and yet your walls still will to pull him deeper.

With your now vigorously bucking hips, you are amazed that he is able to keep the tension building.

You release a long line of expletives as you feel your body still. It’s a heart aching moment when all your muscles contract at once and your breath is stolen from you in the realisation that the coil is about to break.

True to his name, the avatar of lust notices your stillness with immediate knowing. He does not stop his movements and sucks your clit into this mouth, pressing his hot tongue down against it.

The added pressure does its intended job, your breath hitches and you feel like your robbed of oxygen. As your lungs suck back in air in a rush of movement, he follows your rolling hips masterfully, returning to curling his fingers against your front wall.

“Oh, Asmo, you can’t… I’m gonna…”, the rest of your warning is stolen by another shuddering breath.

You’re too late to let him know, as the coil snaps you squeeze your eyes closed; you can feel the tears running down towards the bed as you crash down a second time. Like a tidal wave, you shudder beneath his acts, soaking his hand and the bed, you can feel your own arousal running around your thigh.

Your moans are so loud that if you’d not been absolutely lost in the attentions of the man laying between your legs, you would have been concerned that others could hear you.

Asmo dutifully continues his onslaught to your senses, pushing you through the orgasm until you become still.

He kisses your stomach lightly while you regain your breath. “You have no idea how hot you are. If I’d known you can come so hard, I don’t think I’d have let you sleep at all tonight.”.

You’re flushed and any remaining makeup you had is smeared in a trail of tears down your cheeks. You feel a stab of embarrassment at the wetness on the sheets.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t done that in a long time.” You bashfully confess, pulling your thighs together. You can feel your walls still flickering suggestively.

“Never ever be sorry. You’re a vision of temptation and I love it.”, He speaks reassuringly, returning to your side to kiss you affectionately.

You can taste your own arousal on his lips and smell both of your heat, it’s a heady combination and when he grinds his length against you it draws a whimper from your lips. He moves away to unfasten his trousers and kick them off.

His arousal is freed, and you can’t stop your eyes drifting down to take it in. You imagine how it would feel to trace your tongue along him. The thought makes you sigh softly.

Asmo of course, notices your every movement. He pulls you back towards him and nibbles your neck before whispering in your ear, “Perhaps it is your turn to taste me?”.

You aren’t sure where you found the energy to be spurred by his words, but you quickly slide yourself off the bed, ushering him to move and sit on the edge.

With an amused look in his eyes he complies with your gesture.

You part his thighs and kneel delicately on the floor between them. You give a small wiggle to get comfortable and he leans forward to place a kiss against your forehead.

You trail your hands up his legs, starting on the front of his shin, gliding them up over his knees, across his thighs, carefully avoiding his crotch to place your hands on his sides, thumbs pressing into his abbs.

Asmo is slight in comparison to his brothers, but he certainly still looks after himself and the muscles feel strong beneath your touch.

You slide one hand down to his hard cock, touching it with as lightly as you’re able.

It stands to attention when you lower your head and allow your breath to settle over him. You press a kiss to the base, revelling in the velveteen feel of his skin.

You let the hand you had trailed down, come to a circle around the base as you trail your tongue along his length. Avoiding the head, you dip your head to repeat the action. He leans back on his elbows to give you more room, the sight of his abbs rippling as he moves gives you a small thrill.

You gather spit on your tongue and repeat your journey from base to top, this time circling your tongue around the head. Licking away droplets of precum deliberately slowly causes the demon in front of you to hiss out a breath.

His thighs tense in response to you catching the head in your mouth to flicker your tongue against the slit.

You release him to add another line of spit to his length, he watches you closely as you move.

You press your thumb against the base of him as you slide your mouth back over the head in one quick movement. You swirl your tongue around it before inching your lips lower.

You bob your head slowly, taking more of him on each descent until you can feel your lips brushing against your hand, your nose fleetingly touches his stomach and you feel his hips roll upwards.

You lock your eyes with his and he stops, gazing at you with a golden halo around blown pupils.

He lets a hand tangle into your hair and groans as you begin to move him in and out of your mouth. Pressing your tongue against him on each descent and sucking softly on each retraction. You can hear his breath quicken, his thighs tremble delicately around your shoulders, he is resisting the temptation to fuck your mouth… instead opting to allow you to pleasure him as you see fit.

It’s easy to get lost in the moment and moan softly against him as you increase your speed.

When you take him deep you pause to oscillate there for a moment, this drags a growl from him and it’s a primal sound that brings goose-bumps to your skin. You return to sliding along the whole length for a couple of strokes before repeating the oscillations around his head, swirling your tongue around it before taking him into the back of your mouth.

Your eyes had drifted closed as you concentrated on your task. You opened them to find his head tilted back, so you hum around his length to gain his attention.

Asmo moans and pulls his head back up to look at you.

“Grrr, you look so perfect with my cock in your mouth.”, he ground out the words in a deep tone that you recognised, his energy fizzled around the two of you and you could feel butterflies knotting your stomach.

He rolled his hips against you experimentally.

Your eyes didn’t leave his. You made no complaint as he rolled them again. You released the hand that had been around the base of his cock, trailing it down to cup his balls. You’re rewarded when you feel him twitch in response.

A second hand curls into your hair and you can feel him tugging subtly against it as you move. Your mouth is still locked onto him, and you press your hot tongue against him as his hips roll again.

The demon is searching for a response from you, his eyes enquiring, restraint written across his features.

You suck him more firmly, moving your hands to grip his thighs before doing your best to nod at him without letting him go. There is a break in the tension in the air around you and his wings unfurl, followed swiftly by his horns glimmering into place.

You breathe heavily, releasing him only enough to playfully trace your tongue around his head and over the slit tasting more precum. He releases a growl and tightens his grip in your hair, guiding your head down onto him. He pauses, his muscles taught beneath you.

Holding you in place he bucks his hips up to meet you, his cock thrusting into your mouth in one solid movement.

You’re surprised by the extra length revealed now that your hand is no longer holding him. You supress a choking sound, only to gag when he lowers himself and thrusts in again.

He pulls you back enough to gain your composure before starting again, testing how far he could push with every thrust. Once he settled on a depth he increased the pace.

You feel tears prick your eyes again, finding it hard to breathe between thrusts.

Your saliva coats him freely now, trails of it dripping down from the base of his cock to his balls. He waits until your head is spinning before he pulls you from him with a groan, air rushes back to your lungs, burning on its way in.

“MC.”, he hissed your name like the sound itself was a touch on his core. His wings flicked as you looked up to him. “Your mouth makes me feel like I could be back in the celestial realm.”.

Asmo pulls you up onto the bed, forcing you to straddle over him. He trails his tongue along a track of tears on your face, wiping away the other trail with his fingers.

He seizes your mouth unapologetically, and the fervour there makes you feel heady again before he swiftly rolls you both over, effortlessly pulling you up the bed with one arm behind your back, to settle you against your pillows.

Your thighs part instinctively to let him lay between them, his length pressing against your soaking folds. The contact entices you to roll your hips against him, which is met with a groan as he demands entry to your mouth with his tongue. You oblige with a soft hum, enjoying the taste of him against you.

He grinds his hips, his cock effortlessly sliding along your slick folds causing both of you to moan. He teases you both again before releasing your mouth, both of you breathing heavily.

“Please.”, you call out in a husky tone, and his wings flick back and fourth behind him.

They draw your attention and you trace his ribs around to his back feeling for the base of his wings, to run your hands along them. The demon watches you as you touch him, amused by your curious exploration of the parts of him that display his demonic nature. He flicks his wings again surprising you into letting go with a gasp.

The demon chuckles, grinding his hips against you as he places a hot kiss against your neck. “When you said please, I thought you wanted me to fuck you, not play with my wings.”.

A guilty look crosses your features causing him to laugh again. The rich sound has you pressing your thighs together once again as a spark travels through your core.

“I did. I’m sorry, I’ve never touched them before.” You shifted your eyes away from him and he chuckled again.

He shifted to press his chest against yours, careful not to allow all of his weight to be on you, then dropped his wings down around you both. The four of them settled along your shoulders and down onto the bed like a cape of velvet. You stared at them in wonder.

“They are so beautiful.”, you murmured the words quietly, turning your head to place a lingering kiss on one of them.

His other wings flicked in response to the touch. He ground his hips against you, pressing his length against you with a restrained insistence.

“Are they heart stopping? Like the sight of you giving into my sin?”, he places his forehead on yours and relaxes himself against you.

You nod, “Hmm Yes.”.

You roll your hips up to him and he catches his breath in surprise.

He lifts his wings, dragging his hands down your sides to squeeze your waist. He grazes his teeth across your shoulder grinding against you again. The demon pulls his hips away allowing his cock to fall at your entrance, he presses it against you teasingly. You aren’t sure, but you could swear that you can see his familiar pink and black energy delicately fading in around you both.

Asmo grips your hips, his fingers pressing in just enough to be uncomfortable, but you don’t pay any mind to it.

All you can think about is the strong member teasingly asking permission to take you. The thought of it pressing into you, rubbing your walls and filling you… is enough to make you attempt to tilt your hips against him. That’s when you realise why he is holding you; you can’t answer your body’s begging need for friction without his agreement.

You whine and grab his forearms tightly. His wings flutter again as you press your nails into his skin impatiently. “Asmo. Please.”.

He smiles at you, leaning in to kiss your temple. “Now… are you trying to say please fuck me?”, his voice is level when he speaks but you can feel the muscles in his arms straining to hold him still.

You nod, “Yes.”. Your own voice is no where near as steady.

He raises an eyebrow, flexing his fingers against your hips, “Yes?”.

He pushes the head of his cock along your slick folds, deliberately avoiding your entrance. You groan as your muscles tense in response, “Asmo. Please stop teasing me. I want you to fuck me.”.

He is already pulling his hips back as you speak, and the moment your sentence finishes he pushes into you in one fell swoop.

The demon groans as he bottoms out, your own breath is taken away and all you can do is feel him there, unmoving, but very much intruding into your flesh with your walls hugging him tightly. You can’t quite believe how the two of you got here, after months of brushing off his advances, believing it had just been his personality, and not a genuine want for you.

_‘Need, for me.’_. You correct your thoughts as you notice his shaking breath on your neck. He places a long soothing kiss there.

He draws his hips back tentatively and pushes back into you slowly. You moan at the sensation of his cock filling you when he returns. He repeats his tentative exploration with a sigh against your skin.

He is still holding your hips in place like a vice and you feel yourself silently wishing for him to move harder. With his next movement your back arches and one of his hands moves up to caress your breast.

“You feel so good.”, you grind out the compliment along with another moan as he moves again. You can feel your walls pressing against him, willing him to stay with you. He grins and picks up his pace, you’re getting tighter with delicious arousal.

The sound of his hips hitting yours permeates your senses and somehow manages to turn you on even more. He releases your hip, to lift your thigh, changing his angle of movement. The head of his cock pushes along your still engorged g-spot pulling a cry of pleasure from you.

Happy with his new position he powers along, using his cock like a piston to hit that sensitive zone with every thrust. His fingers tightly grip your thigh, making small indents that are certain to bruise tomorrow. Your own hands have long left his arms and are now desperately clinging to his back needing to feel him as close to you as possible.

As the time ticks onwards, you can feel the tension coiling up pleasantly. You moan between borrowed breaths, the squeezing of your muscles against him drawing groans from Asmo too.

When you press yourself down to him with a needy whine, he picks up the pace. His cock reliably hitting that magic spot within you on every stroke. The sensations seem to be relentless and your brain is lost in a lusty fog, all you need here and now is to feel him inside you like this. To drive him to his release.

You roll your hips in time with his movements and he growls in response, flapping his wings up and away. With your arms still at his back, you run them up past his wings to grip his shoulders tightly.

You press your lips to him eagerly, encouraging him to allow your tongue entry to lace with his.

He complies readily, though you are aware that your thrusting bodies make the interaction jerky. The clumsy meeting of lips only drew you closer to your edge. A groan escaping from him as he pulls his head away to thrust in deeper. The action fills you completely and you freeze beneath him as a shuddering moan tares through you.

Asmo slides a hand between you to press his fingers against your clit. He rolls the pads of his fingers over it lazily at first, then increases the contact willing your body to answer its need.

His attentions work exactly as intended and you feel your orgasm teeter over the cliff perilously. Your eyes close as you throw your head back, robbed of oxygen and yet still able to cry out your pleasure, his name tumbling from your lips between ragged groans.

Your walls squeeze him intently.

You don’t know if it’s your bodies pleading or your lewd calling of his name that sends him over the edge too, but his movements faulter briefly as he releases himself along with the remnants of your orgasm. Ropes of cum fill you with each thrust and you can’t help crying out with each final pump.

Finally, you both still. Breathing heavy, and hearts racing as he lays over you, holding his weight on one elbow.

Predictably Asmo recovers before you, reaching to press butterfly kisses along your shoulder while you lay waiting for your heartbeat to slow. Every muscle aches and the tingling that is settling into them feels glorious.

He rolls to his side and pulls you in close to spoon with you.

He nuzzles your neck from behind you, patiently enjoying your pheromones while he waits for you to come back from your heady arousal. The fog slowly clears from your mind and you gratefully cwtch back into him, laying your hand over his as he traces circles on your stomach.

Once he is sure that you have recovered, he croons in your ear, “You were screaming, So I’d say it went pretty well, actually.”.

His words were a teasing repeat of his statement from before all of this started. You have to admit that you figure his analysis is right. You’re too content to bite back against the tease though, so you settle simply for saying, “I guess you demonstrated well.”.

His chuckle reverberated against your neck and you sighed contently. You could listen to that happy sound forever.

Just as your thinking that you could happily doze off with him, he pulls away from you and ushers you off the bed.

Indicating the bathroom, he collects a cotton nightdress for you from your cupboards before shooing you inside to shower together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being patient with me.   
> My work has changed a lot in the last couple of weeks and I have less time to spare than I did before. I'm still trying to write and release as fast as I can, but sadly it's unlikely that I'll have time to do chapters daily like before.


	21. Bruises and Banners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morning comes and MC is feeling refreshed for once.  
> Having missed breakfast she enjoys some of Asmo's rather interesting home remedies before having a brush in the corridor, ending curiously with the emergence of Prom Banners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As far as I can tell there is only one tag needed for this chapter - there is description of the evidence left by the violence the night before.

You wake leisurely to the familiar warm glow of your lanterns. They are brighter than usual, hinting that you’ve missed breakfast. This isn’t unusual on a Saturday, but you still feel a little guilt at not attending.

You feel cosy and content in your comfy cotton nightdress.

It is one of the few personal items of clothing that Barbatos had had transferred from home for you, at the beginning of your stay. The material was well worn and over washed, but that is exactly why it’s so comfortable and you relish the soft feel against your skin.

The nightdress itself is like a cwtch as you stretch your arms out to relieve tension in your shoulders. Stretching your whole back similarly to a cat, you yawn deeply too.

Your muscles ache, a provocative reminder of the night before.

Asmo had insisted on helping you to clean up in the shower, predictably taking great joy in getting to lather soap all over you. He’d delicately cleaned away your make up with a cleansing pad, before completely undoing all of his hard work by passionately taking you again with your breasts squashed against the cold tile of the shower wall.

Thrice.

Then he’d taken his time to ensure both of you were **thoroughly** moisturised.

He helped you to dry and brush out your hair, dressed you in your nightdress and perched you on the edge of the bed; From where you sat and watched him dry his own hair before he joined you to sleep.

You experience a small tug of sadness as you roll over and realise you are alone in your bed. You even pout to yourself while stretching your arms and legs out across the mattress.

When you sit up in your bed you notice a tray on the table across the room. It looks like it contains breakfast, so you happily pad over to it to investigate.

There is a hot pot of coffee, some croissants, some breakfast muffins with some dubious looking black specks, and Asmo’s favourite frosted cupcakes.

There is also a note:

_MC,_

_If you wake before I get back, please enjoy breakfast and wait for me. I promise I won’t take long._

_Asmo._

_PS. The coffee has a little extra pizazz to help you feel better, make sure to drink some._

The note is simple and to the point, you can easily imagine him waving his hands about dramatically explaining away his suspicious coffee. Chances are it’s some sort of potion from the witches.

_‘Or maybe he told Satan and asked for a charm?’._

The thought makes you shiver, you aren’t sure you want other people to know what happened at the Fall. You take a bite of a croissant and pour a glass of water, eyeing the coffee pot as if it might speak to you. Anything is a possibility really.

You don’t want to be distrusting, but you really aren’t sure if your comfortable drinking a random unknown substance. Even if it does smell like the best coffee in the world.

Luckily for you, you don’t need to make a choice on the matter before Asmo bustles back into your room. He is wearing a cheery smile while you’re still munching on that croissant. “Morning darling. Ohhh good, you look refreshed.”.

He places a few jars onto the table next to the tray and kisses your cheek warmly. “Did you try the coffee?”.

“Not yet.” You look at him curiously, hopeful for an explanation.

His eyes are gleaming in a bright smile as he pours a cup of it, “Oh come now. You know I wouldn’t give you anything humans can’t eat.”. He paused to look you up and down. “I promise there are no charms on it. It’s just herbs for easing sore muscles. Works a treat every time… after a strenuous night.”, he winks mischievously.

The look should have you mistrusting the substance as he hands you the cup, but you have no reason to doubt his explanation, after all you know he’d never hurt you.

You look at him over the top of the cup as you inhale the steam from the contents, it really does smell divine. It also looks like it already has milk in it, just how you like it.

Taking a sip, you’re delighted to find that, not only does it not taste inedible, it tastes like a gingerbread latte.

“Ginger?”, you ask him with an air of surprise.

He waves a hand at you dismissively, “Oh that helps to settle a nervous stomach, also hides the taste of everything else.”.

You definitely do not want to know what ‘everything else’ is, so you continue to drink without further question.

When you finished your pastry and coffee, you’re immediately handed one of the jars he had brought with him.

“That’s for you. It’s from my special reserve.”, Asmo leaned forward to kiss you gently, his lips feel warm and he smells of a sweet floral concoction.

When he pulls away his eyes fall to your neck where he had left his mark last night, “It’s a face cream, but you should put it on your neck, it’ll help to heal those marks… as much as I’m loathed to see the beautiful evidence of our night disappear, I think you’ll probably feel better if you aren’t announcing it to the whole of R.A.D. on Monday.”.

You flushed at the implication. You had felt last night that the skin would probably welt this morning, but you haven’t had an opportunity to check it yet.

You slowly nod at him, opening the jar to smell the content. It is sweet and floral, but there is a fruity undertone you can’t quite decipher… maybe cherries? You make an appreciative hum as you screw the lid back on.

“It’s nice isn’t it? Just wait until it hits your skin.”, The demon thrilled in front of you and you can’t help but wonder if you’ve ever seen him smile so brightly before.

“Right then love, I have some prior arrangements for today, but I’ll see you at dinner yes?”, he bopped your nose cheerfully as he swiped a cupcake from the tray on the table.

“You can count on it!”, you smile warmly in response and watch him sashay from the room.

Deliberately avoiding the muffins, you eat a cupcake lazily before heading to the bathroom with the jar you’d been gifted.

To your surprise, the face that greets you in the mirror really does look refreshed, Asmo hadn’t just been dropping compliments. You figure the moisturiser from last night had worked its wonders… but then you would expect that from any cosmetics own by the avatar of lust himself.

You turn your head to view the love bite in the mirror, it is definitely a lewd shade of reddish-purple already.

The sight brought thoughts of how it got there rushing back to your mind and you found yourself actually needing to press your thighs together, to quell the warmth that sneaked into your core.

You shook your head at yourself in the mirror and opened the jar to apply some of the cream. It was luxurious and thick, and it felt cool the instant it hit your skin.

It sank in with relative ease considering how oily it is, and then it quickly started to tingle with a slight warming sensation.

_‘No wonder he likes this stuff. Perv.’._

You tutted to yourself and pulled your nightdress off to get ready for the day.

That was when you saw it, the area that was bruised in the alley way last night.

You thought it was small, Asmo had checked it, it **was** small.

Now though, nearly all of your right clavicle was tinged with a deep purple, almost black. The mark sneaked its way up onto your shoulder near to your neck.

_‘How could I not know that it was so big?’._

You stare at it dumbfounded.

You presume it must have been adrenaline that stopped you feeling it. You’re no doctor but it’s your best guess, you’d heard that that’s why some people don’t feel it when they break a bone.

You delicately rub some of the cream over the surface of the bruise which protests with a sharp sting and then deep throbbing. You hiss at the pain, but you dutifully finish applying it to the whole area.

As you fixate on the deep hue in the mirror, you take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is a mark that you survived… not something you should allow to upset you.

Despite your best efforts to convince yourself, you still feel a little nauseous.

You take another deep breath to give yourself courage and wander back to your bedroom to get dressed.

After some fretting, you’re eventually happy with a pair of jeans and a sleeveless turtleneck shirt. You fussed with your hair to ensure that it covered your neck, then took another deep breath to instill confidence before collecting the breakfast tray and exiting your room to return it to the kitchen.

You’re barely out of your room when you literally bump into Belphie.

After ensuring that you’re okay he looked you up and down slowly, then pointed an unamused expression towards you as he spoke. “Ughh. You missed breakfast, and you reek like Asmo.”, he wrinkled his nose.

_‘Oh gods. Busted.’._

Your eyebrows knit together as you stammer back to him, “I…uh. N-no. We might have spent the night together, but I certainly do not **reek** of sex thank you very much.”.

You gained confidence towards the end of your statement, but you couldn’t help the light pink that dusted your cheeks when you remember the early hours of this morning.

His eyes widened as understanding hit him, “Wow… that’s an image that I **never** wanted to have to think of.”

You jutted your chin forward in defiance, irritated by his rude response about his brother.

His eyes immediately fell to the top of your neck, unbeknownst to you, you’d moved enough to expose half of the round mark there.

The blue haired demon quickly grabbed your shoulder, leaning over the top of the tray in your hands to look closer at the mark, his thumb brushing across the angry bruising on your collar made you wince. There’s no way he could know about the incident, so you are almost grateful that he has probably assumed it’s another bite mark he has accidentally touched.

He clicked his tongue as he let go of you and straightened back up.

“Guess you really did cave to Asmo first.”, He still wore a disinterested expression, but his words sounded terse.

“I did not **cave**.”, you bite back irritably. “You make it sound like I just eventually gave up resisting.”.

He looked you over again, “No. He’s just had more opportunity to get to know you. I should have known that I couldn’t have gained your attention in half the time my brothers have had. Not without doing anything dramatic”.

A confused expression crosses your face, “Dramatic?”.

Your expression only soured more as you went unanswered.

Then you felt the weight of the tray being taken away from you, it was slowly lifted out of your hands and moved around to hover behind his back. You watched it seemingly floating for a few seconds before it dawned on you that he had glimmered his tail into place and was now using it to hold the tray away.

Belphie stepped towards you and lowered his voice to almost a whisper, “You know, I have a confession to make…”. His violet eyes were locked on yours while he patiently waited for you to voice the question that he knew you would have.

“Yeah? And, what is that?”, you spoke slowly, as a feeling of being out manoeuvred started to settle in from your stomach upwards.

He moved even closer lazily dipping his head, he is far taller than you and his lips are close to your temple as he continues, “Yes. I need to tell you that… I am awake.”.

Your confused look returns. “Awake? Wha…”, your question is cut off as his arms circle behind you, palms pressed flat to your back as he pulls you in and covers your mouth with his own. His lips are demanding, and you feel like a wilting flower beneath him as heat rushes into your chest.

It’s not even a conscious reaction to kiss him back.

Your heartbeat starts to rush in a thrill of its own when his tongue traces your bottom lip requesting access. You part your lips tentatively, and he greedily tastes as much of you as he can access.

It’s only when his thighs touch yours that you crash back to reality, a panic rushing over you at being in the corridor where anyone could find you.

As if you’d accidentally willed it into being, footsteps approached you and you shot away from Belphie in a fluster. He let you go without resistance but looked at you with a smirk of victory.

You notice that you can’t see anyone coming and groan silently as you register that they must be behind you. You look at the demon in front of you with pleading eyes, hoping he wont choose to expose what he has learned about last night.

You jump when a voice booms along the corridor towards you.

“Oi MC, don’t stand so close to him. He’ll trick ya into wasting the day asleep with him!”.

You gave a silent prayer that it was Mammon and not Lucifer… the eldest without a shadow of a doubt would be able to deduce what had just happened.

You turned to smile at the tanned demon striding towards you confidently.

“Good morning Mammon!”, you injected as much sincerity into your greeting as you could muster.

Belphie snorted behind you, leaning towards you to speak into your ear with a low chuckle, “It’s past 1pm. My word, he fucked all sense of time out of you.”.

You whirl around to berate him but are caught off guard when he makes an intentionally public show of kissing your cheek, lingering for longer than would be polite.

All you can do is gasp and stare at him incredulously as he nonchalantly steps away from you.

“Hey. Belphie! None of that! We have prom business to deal with.”, Mammon obviously hadn’t heard the teasing and was thankfully only reacting to his brother’s proximity, and longer than expected kiss.

Belphie waved the breakfast tray in his direction, idly transferring it to his hands and glimmering away his tail.

“I’m just helping MC by taking this back to the kitchen that’s all.”, he smiled smugly and turned on his heels to leave the two of you, he made his way down the corridor in his usual languid manner.

He didn’t turn back to you once, and you honestly aren’t sure if you are glad or offended.

Mammon reached your side and tutted. “Careful. He wants something. He’s too lazy to do anything for free.”.

You turn to face him opening your mouth to reply, ultimately deciding that silence is golden though, you close it again without a word.

The second born waved what looked like an enormous roll of material at you excitedly. “Hey, Asmo and Satan said they need banners to decorate the prom entrance and above the stage.”.

You looked at the rolls in his hand again, now that you were actually concentrating you could see that they were canvas banners, complete with a strong looking cord for hanging.

“Did you order these for them?”, you asked, genuinely excited to be distracted by something you can work on and divert your mind from what ever the hell it was that just happened to you.

Mammon’s smile faltered for a second, “Ah, well. No. But these were going unused so I figure they might like ‘em.”.

He scratched the back of his neck. You’re almost certain that this is becoming a tell-tale sign of him having stolen or ‘borrowed’ things without consent.

You smiled at him regardless, who cares if it’s ‘borrowed’, you’re sure he will come out in one piece in the end anyway… he always does.

“Well, let’s go to the common room and we can lay them out on the floor to take a look. Maybe Satan will be there already.”, you smile brightly at him looping your arm through one of his and turning down the corridor.

He turned an obvious shade of pink but didn’t resist the movement, carefully turning to walk along with you.

“What do ya need stuffy Satan for huh? We can check these together. The Great Mammon has excellent taste you know.”, the demon beside you forced out the words in false bravado.

“Because…”, You squeeze his arm and laugh, “Satan and Asmo are the decorating team remember?”.

Besides, you’re convinced that if there are multiple people in a room, you’re less likely to be blindsided by any more kisses.

_‘Corridors are bad for my heart rate.’_


	22. Well... Shit.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The banners are explained, and MC has an idea to make use of them.  
> Dinner is pleasant... Until it's not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning tags - MC discusses the violet events of previous chapters here, this includes mention of rape and gruesome murders.

You’re stood in the common room staring at two of the largest canvas signs you’ve ever seen. There are several female demon models sprawled across them, in brightly coloured dresses surrounded by odd sparkle effects and writing in a script you don’t understand.

Satan is stood at the other side of the banners looking at them with an unamused expression. “Explain to me again why we have campaign banners from Majolish?”, he rubbed his hand down his face in exasperation.

“Look… they are last seasons and ain’t needed. So I asked the director if I could have ‘em. He was happy to help, the guy has some kinda obsession with the humans.”, Mammon shrugged. “Thought you would be grateful for me helping ya.”.

You glance between the two demons and back at the banners.

“But they are advertisements for Majolish. Not the prom.”, Satan waved his hand at the banners in frustration as he spoke.

This back and forth had been going on for a while already, and you’re pretty certain it is going to erupt into fighting if you can’t figure out a way to defuse it.

“Do you know how much grimm ya need to get these printed yourself? You can pay for it if you’re so determined that we need to order new ones.”. Mammon was standing with his hands on his hips in annoyance.

Satan took a deep breath and schooled his careful smile onto his face before speaking again, “None of us are paying for it. It’s coming out of the R.A.D. student council fund.”.

“Yeah, which Lucifer still wont give me access to.”, the second born looked a lot like a pouting child.

But it’s not his mood that you’re truly concerned about now. Satan looks calm, but you can feel his energy rising and the anger that is slowly slipping into the room weighs on you like an anchor.

You watched as he placed his hand on his chest and took another deep breath.

“That is because he knows you’ll be your scummy self and pilfer from it.”, his voice was level but it didn’t make you feel any more comfortable. “Besides there is a strict budget and you can’t seem to understand what one of those is.”, the blonde demon shook his head at his older brother.

Mammon for once actually looked guilty as charged, he dropped his eyes to the floor and gestured at the banners, “Well do you want ‘em or not?”.

You jump between the two of them before Satan can answer, holding your hand out to draw attention. Both of them look at you curiously.

“Satan did you say the student council fund has a budget for this?”, you look at him intently as you speak.

He raised an eyebrow, “Yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t it? We can’t just take unlimited grimm from the whole years fund. Although, I dare say that if you really want something and ask Diavolo yourself, he will probably pay for it himself to allow you to have it.”.

“That’s perfect!”, you smile and the two of them look bewildered.

“You’re not thinking of asking Diavolo to pay for new banners are ya? You’re more stupid than I thought.”, Mammon crossed his arms as if he is washing his hands of the idea.

You don’t blame him, he probably thinks Diavolo would smoke his arse for asking for something so trivial. Normally you’d be annoyed at him calling you stupid, but this time you laugh merrily.

The uncomfortable look of confusion that crosses Satan’s face is priceless, he even steps toward you as if concerned that you are feeling unwell. This only makes you laugh more.

“Hey what’s got into ya?”, the tanned demon who caused your laughing in the first place is also looking uncomfortable.

You take a few breaths to still yourself. “No. No. Don’t worry I’m not going to ask the heir of the whole Devildom to buy us some banners.”, you chuckle again, wiping your eyes before continuing.

“Proms usually have a budget in the human world too. But, they are usually very tight and don’t cover everything. So the committees tend to hold fundraisers, or make things themselves.”. Both men are nodding along with you as you start to explain, but neither of them seem to be any clearer on why any of this is important.

You pick up the end of one of the banners and fold it in on itself revealing the back. It’s crisp white canvas, untouched other than a few wear marks.

You point to the white material and continue your reasoning, “It gave me an idea. We can recycle these banners. Look they are just blank on the back, we can paint our own designs on them. Just like some of the committees have to.”.

Satan holds his hand to his chin while he mulls over the idea. “That’s not a bad plan. Except none of us really know what needs to be on them.”.

You smile at him brightly, “Well that’s why I’m here, isn’t it? I can guide you. They are pretty big, I don’t think you and Asmo can get them both done on your own with everything else you need to do. I can help you with these.”.

Mammon was also smiling brightly, “See I knew they would be helpful.”.

You turn to him and nudge his elbow before adding, “Mammon can help too.”.

“Hey. What? You want the great Mammon to waste his time recycling?”, he turned a curious shade of pink, he said the word ‘recycling’ like it was a dirty word and wrinkled his nose. You don’t suppose the avatar of greed has ever recycled anything, other than to resell it of course. He’s far more likely to just amass a ton of new things.

You smirk at him, “Yes. Exactly. Unless… you don’t want to spend time with me. I could ask Levi instead; he owes me a favour.”.

His blue eyes flicked to your face and he spluttered over an attempted answer.

He covered his mouth with his hand to silence himself, took a deep breath, and started again, “I didn’t say that. No need to ask the shut in. You will be lucky to have me helping out… You’ll probably ruin it without me there.”.

_‘He is so easy to tease.’._

You nudge his elbow again and his blush spreads out to his ears.

“Not that I like to spend time with you or anything. I just don’t want you to screw it up.”, he tried hard to look uninterested by adding a shrug at the end of his statement.

_‘I wonder if he realises literally everyone sees through this?’._

“Ah huh. Sure.”, you retort casually as you kneel down on the floor to roll the banners back up. “Let’s give Satan and Asmo a chance to come up with some designs, then we can start painting these during the week, okay?”.

You place one banner after another onto the table and shoo away a little D who attempts to clear them away. He bristles, so you bend to kiss the top of his head, then he chirps happily before heading off on his way.

Once you’re finished you straighten back up and address Satan, “I can message you later with a list of the writing that’ll be needed on them if you like?”.

He regards you happily, “I’ll look forward to it.”. He follows up with a genuine smile.

You left the two demons with a sense of satisfaction, and returned to your room to finish your homework for the week.

You also check on your bruises and apply some more cream. They aren’t looking any better, but you have to admit that the sting from the largest one is lessened in comparison to this morning.

You’re happy that neither Satan, nor Mammon saw the bite mark that Belphie had noticed so easily. He might appear to be half asleep all the time, but he is certainly more perceptive than you might expect.

You decide it’s best to apply some foundation to the hickey before dinner though, just in case you expose it to anyone else. You also unroll the collar on your shirt a little so that it sits touching your chin.

You arrived at dinner after Lucifer, Satan and the twins, and settled yourself in your normal place. You pour a glass of orange juice to sip on while you wait for the others to arrive.

The brothers rarely wait, for fear of Beel eating the entire content of the table before they can get to any themselves. You just couldn’t bring yourself to ignore the snap of your grandmother’s voice in your head though, demanding that you wait until all attendees are at the table, otherwise it’s rude.

Of course, you forced yourself to bypass this impulse at breakfast, assuring her voice in your head that it’s fine since you never know how many people will actually turn up in the mornings.

Levi arrived with his eyes buried in Mononoke land as he absentmindedly took his seat, adding food to his plate with one hand.

Asmo arrived next, he leans over the back of your chair to hug you. He coos in your ear in his normal cheery lilt, “Darling! Good evening.”.

You squeeze his arms affectionately in response. When he straightens to move around the table to take his normal place, you feel everyone’s eyes fall on you.

There is nothing unusual about the lusty demon attempting to get touchy with you at dinner, or any other time for that matter. However, you realised belatedly that the fact you didn’t attempt to field him away definitely wasn’t normal.

You lean back in your chair and try not to look suspicious by giving away that you are uncomfortable.

Belphie smirked at you and you stared into your glass to avoid his gaze. He brushes his leg against you under the table and you shoot him daggers as a faint warmth touches your cheeks.

When you turn away again, his leg is still leaning against your shin.

Mammon enters the room with his usual boisterous attitude.

You sigh as it dawns on you that he wasn’t there to see your hug with Asmo. That’s something to be thankful for, you don’t think you want to deal with his dramatics about allowing his brothers to get too close.

Dinner rolls on in its usual fashion, nearly everyone is finished and you’re feeling happy in this run of the mill event. Everyday things in the house like this make you feel comfortable. There is a sense of belonging.

The feeling is shattered in an instant though as Lucifer speaks, “I was talking with Simeon this afternoon. He said that Soloman returned to Purgatory hall last night with a cut on his temple. I don’t suppose anyone knows anything about that do they?”.

_‘Fuck.’._

You froze.

His voice was calm and level, but as always with the eldest there was an air of authority that put you on edge. His eyes fell on you directly and you swallowed the food that had been in your mouth before you froze.

You carefully placed your fork onto your plate, making sure not to make a sound with it, not wanting to draw attention to yourself.

Asmo smiled cheerily, “Oh, Solomon got into a tussle. You know what he is like. So broody.”, he hummed appreciatively as he finished his sentence.

You marvel at his ability to even turn this situation around to his lusty thoughts.

Lucifer turned to regard his brother with a look of mild disgust.

He doesn’t answer him though and trained his gaze back on you deliberately slowly. “Run of the mill for him I suppose. Did you hear the gossip that tiny pieces of demon flesh were found spread around outside the city limits this afternoon. That’s interesting don’t you think?”.

_‘Oh gods he knows.’._

You shrank in your seat, trying desperately not to imagine whatever punishment Lucifer would think up as a result of the fight last night.

“That is nothing unusual really.”. Satan stated almost passively.

To your surprise Belphie agrees, “Lower demons bump each other off all the time.”.

In a different circumstance you might have been amused at his use of a human phrase, but not with Lucifer’s eyes still trained on you.

The eldest half smiles when he explains his reasoning, “In amongst them, was a jabbering crazy wrath demon taring into his own legs. Quite a mess according to the reports.”.

Asmo sighs. “I might have needed to put a teeny tiny charm on someone.”, he makes a pinching gesture with his hand, then sits back in his chair.

You feel hot, like you’re melting under Lucifer’s stare, which is still boring into you.

There is no doubt that he already knows, he’s just trying to coax it out of the two of you slowly, rather than just coming out with it. You sigh, remembering your first day when the brothers had described him as a sadist, how wrong you were to have thought they were only teasing him at the time.

“So tell me…”, He starts slowly, swirling a teaspoon around in his cup. On the surface it looks like an idle action, but your sure its an act to rattle you. “Why exactly was your punishment so cruel? What sparked such an outburst?”.

Satan scoffed, “Ripping someone apart and then torturing yourself? I’m surprised you say that is cruel… sounds exactly like something you would do actually.”.

The eldest glared at him, “Me? Perhaps. It’s not the kind of thing our perverted brother would usually choose though is it?”.

“That’s true. It’s not like ya to be vindictive Asmo. Even when you’re jealous you normally just pout for days and ask the witches for hexes.”. Mammon added, now watching Asmo with interest.

“I do not get jealous. Jealousy is an ugly trait.”, Asmo complains in return.

Levi huffs and rolls his eyes beside him but doesn’t speak.

Lucifer held up a hand to silence his brothers, “I suggest you explain. The full story. Or you will be hung in the foyer until you decide to answer. You and MC both.”.

The remaining 5 brothers all turned to look at you with alarm, obviously they hadn’t realised that this involves you until now.

Asmo sighed and waved his hands dramatically, “Fine.”.

He took a moment to glance at you before he made his confession. You couldn’t help but feel like he was going to get in more trouble than he deserved, and you felt terrible. It’s not that you’d believed you could keep it from Lucifer, you just hadn’t had time to really think about the possibility of telling him.

Asmo sighed again and divulged his story, “A pair of rather stupid demons attacked Solomon and MC. They… Well I don’t want to repeat their threats to our darling human. It’s bad enough she had to hear them once. What is important though, is that Solomon and I dealt with the situation as quickly as we could. And proportionately.”

Lucifer’s face soured continuously throughout his summary, several of the other demons around the table were looking stormy too.

Mammon exploded in an instant, “What!? I told ya it was a bad idea to go to the Fall. How did she get attacked while she was with ya!? Ugh I shouldn’t have let her go with you alone.”.

For the first time all evening, other than when he greeted you, Beel spoke.

He dropped his fork loudly on his plate to gain attention, “Mammon I think you are missing the point.”.

The ginger haired demon placed his hand over yours on the table and squeezed it gently, “MC, are you okay?”. You try your best to muster a smile and nod at him.

“Of course she’s okay, she’s sat here ain’t she!?”, Mammon pointed at Asmo accusingly, “She might not have been though. Thanks to you. Ugh I should’a gone with ya.”.

Asmo winced, you know he already feels guilty about what happened, and you don’t think he deserves criticizing like this.

You open your mouth to speak but are cut off by Belphie, his face is dark, “No she’s not.”.

He turned to face you, “You winced earlier today, when I touched your shoulder. You got injured, didn’t you?”. He’s looking at you with a mixture of anger and concern.

“You got injured!? Why didn’t you tell us?”, Satan’s usual tight control on his voice and expression is slipping. You can see his horns glimmering in and out of place as he tries to keep himself in check.

“It’s only bruising.”, you answer quickly, hoping to reign in this conversation.

The only person who looks even remotely calm is Beel, and you’re certain the only reason for that is that he is concerned for your feelings in this whole mess.

You swallow hard willing yourself to speak with authority, “I didn’t tell you for a lot of reasons. Firstly, I didn’t want to worry anyone. Secondly I knew you’d all do this.”.

You gestured around the table and they looked at each other’s simmering rage scarcely hidden beneath the surface. Again, you’re certain the only reason they are even trying to hide it is because of your presence.

Lucifer clenched his jaw and turned his gaze to Asmo, “And you thought you could just hide all of this from us?”.

The fair-haired demon shook his head, “No. I just wanted to give MC time to recover from it before you all exploded. Besides, I haven’t seen any of you until now.”.

Lucifer scowled at him, “I have not exploded. Nor do I plan to. I do however think that Cerberus is very hungry and would like to see you.”.

“That’s enough!”, you don’t shout, but it is your voice that is clearly laced with anger now, as you stand up in front of the table.

“Asmo **protected** me, exactly as he should have. He has done nothing wrong… In fact, it was his idea to ensure Solomon was there. Solomon by the way, helped a great deal. **I** am fine, not that any of you except Asmo and Beel seem to care. The situation has been dealt with; a punishment dished out on the demons involved. And, I quite frankly would prefer not to re-live any of it, or have to think about how gruesome their fates were, just so that you can satisfy your curiosity around rumours… **You** clearly already knew what had happened, but you couldn’t ask me in private, you just had to drag it out in front of everyone didn’t you!?”.

The entire group of men stared at you in a mixture of awe and confusion. Mammon looked as though he believed you were about to die, for speaking to Lucifer in such a way.

To be fair to him, Lucifer did in fact look murderous.

“MC, it is my responsibility to ensure you and the exchange program remain safe. The punishment was not Asmo’s to serve. You clearly do not understand just how much danger you were in.”, Lucifer spoke in a low and menacing tone, but you refuse to be budged by it. This time he is wrong, and you are not going to let it proceed along his preferred course of action.

You glare at him, “No... I understand perfectly well. Do you have any idea what it is like to have your entire ability to control your own body removed? Fighting back vomit in disgust at the creature assaulting you, while being forced to listen to him boast about how he plans to slowly rape and murder you?... I do not believe that you do. The punishment **wasn’t** something Asmo chose to dish out as if he didn’t care for your precious regulations. Those demons would not have stopped until the three of us were **dead** unless he did what he did. You owe him an apology, and I am done listening to you berate people when they’ve done nothing wrong.”.

You shove your chair away from the table and stride from the room in disgust.

* * *

No one followed her.

None of them could bring themselves to move.

All of them were pale as the true seriousness of the situation landed on them.

Beel felt sick imagining her having to endure it, Belphie did too, although he honestly couldn’t decide if it was Beel’s pain he could feel or his own.

Mammon remained stock still staring at Asmo in awe, he had no idea his younger brother could have been so valiant.

Levi was also looking at Asmo in shock. He had a stabbing pain of jealousy that he couldn’t have been the hero to MC, but curiously, what he felt more than that was adoration for his brother for stepping up when she needed him most.

Satan had turned his angry glare on Lucifer, who actually looked stunned.

The eldest had gone deathly pale, and perhaps even scarier… was also silent with his jaw clenched.

Asmo should have been the only one not in shock.

After all, he knew what had happened, he was there.

The lust demon, however, could not believe that their human had just been so outrageously brash with his older brother, for the sake of defending him.

She was incredible.

Eventually though, he managed to shake some life into himself. He rose to leave the table, excusing himself irritably, “I’m going to make sure she is okay.”.

He glided from the room, leaving his brothers as silent stunned statues behind him.


	23. Demons and Overthinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC overthinks her situation, but is reminded that demons can be just as self conscious as she is. They as well, have more to them than their sin, even if some of them do display it 24/7 like a mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No strong warning tags for this one, although MC and others display insecurity, and overthinking.

You stormed into your room, slamming the door behind you. You doubt anyone can hear the bang that reverberated through the woodwork, but it made you feel a little better.

Taking quick strides through your room you entered the bathroom. You grabbed the edge of the sink unit to steady yourself, leaning over it and staring down into the void of the plug hole. Then you took deep breaths to stave off hysterical crying that you knew, for you at least, usually followed any outbursts of anger.

_‘He’s going to have **me** fed to that damn dog instead now.’._

You squeeze your eyes shut.

_‘No. Be calm, you know this. Breathe – in for three out for three.’._

You count as the seconds go by for each calming breath you pull into your lungs in a well-practiced motion.

One, two, three. Out, two, three.

Two, Two, Three. Out, two, three.

Three, two, three. Out, two…

You jump a mile, letting out a shriek, before you get back around to counting the next three. A set of arms had snaked around your waist and held you to a strong chest that bent over you easily, to accommodate your forward leaning stance.

“Oohh what a cute sound!”, Asmo’s voice lilted near to your ear.

He carefully pushed back some of your hair that had been tumbling down into the sink, he now tucked it behind your ear as he continued to speak. “I didn’t mean to frighten you though. Are you okay?”.

You nod your head, not trusting yourself to speak for fear of those tears you knew were waiting to seize the opportunity to spring forth. He places a kiss softly on your cheek.

“Are you certain?”, he questions gently.

You nod again, but try to be more enthusiastic about it. He moves smoothly back as you stand, removing your hands from the sink and laying your forearms over the top of his, then you squeeze him reassuringly.

He looks at your faces in the vanity mirror in front of you both, and delicately rests his chin on your shoulder while he studies the reflection.

He squeezes you back after a short while, “Thank you for saying what you said.”. His eyes slid down to the floor and then back to the reflection where he met your gaze. “I’ve never seen anyone stand off with Lucifer like that. Especially not for me.”, he sighed quietly.

You could feel your anger melting away, slowly replaced with a bewildering sense of sadness.

You doubt that Asmo ever receives anything more than superficial attentions from people, and there was something in what he just said that gave you the impression he doesn’t feel worthy of the risk that you took.

“He was in the wrong.”, you stated with a quiet defiance in your voice. “You have nothing to feel bad about.”.

The demon wrapped around you. He sighed again but nuzzled the side of your neck. “I’d treat those two crazy scumbags the same every time if I had to live it over and over. You’re too special to lose so easily.”.

“And I’d tell Lucifer he’s an arsehole again as well.”, you quip as you turn around in his arms to face him. “Problem is, you might have to fight him off too. I’m sure I made him really angry.”.

Asmo laughed, it felt good to see a small sparkle filter back to his gaze.

“Darling, I’m sure he is positively livid.”, he winked at you and pulled you away from the sink to press you against his body, squeezing his arms around you protectively. “Give him a couple of days to calm down. He won’t hurt you.”, he finishes his reply with a warm kiss on your lips, which he somehow musters the strength to do while resisting the urge to place his tongue in your mouth at the same time.

He pulls away from you with a mischievous smile, “Besides… If he does try, I won’t have to fight him off alone. Beel would never let him touch you. Neither would my other brothers.”.

He paused and thought for a moment before continuing, “In fact, Mammon is so infatuated with you, I think he might actually kill him.”. Asmo nudged your side gently as he added the quip with a devilish smile and edge of teasing in his voice.

Right now you are annoyed with that blue eyed moron, he’d spoken as though you weren’t even in the room earlier. Barking his complaints at Asmo as though you are incapable of making and owning your own decision.

However, you found yourself laughing at the absurdity of the suggestion.

You’d hardly say the second born is infatuated, granted he does a terrible job of hiding a schoolboy crush on you, but you wouldn’t say that’s a comparable description. Especially not the idea that he would feel so strongly he’d kill Lucifer of all people.

Your laughing seems to satisfy Asmo and he steps away from you, drawing you back into your bedroom with a suggestion to put on some facemasks and watch a movie to help you relax. You aren’t convinced that that is going to work, but in lieu of receiving cwtches wrapped in blankets with this amazing demon, you decide to go along with it.

During the rest of the evening you’d received a couple of other visitors too.

Beel had knocked softly, waiting to be let in with a peace offering of chocolate cake.

He’d explained that he felt bad that you’d missed dessert since you left the table early. You don’t feel like Beel has any need to feel bad about anything, but you decided that food is probably the easiest way for him to express himself and welcomed him to your movie pile warmly.

Asmo had tried to put a mask on him too, but gave up when the larger demon dodged his attempts and threatened to eat the whole jar of mud.

Levi popped by too, he had shuffled in in his usual awkward manner and inquired if Henry was looking after you well enough in his absence.

You had already been cuddling the little orange plushie when he arrived, so you waved it at him happily, reassuring him that you are fine. He hadn’t looked like he wanted to stay, but when Asmo teased him that he would be missing out otherwise, he decided to stay for your second movie.

Neither Satan, nor Belphie visited, but both demons sent you messages asking after you.

You assumed neither of them trusted their temper to visit you after the revelation of what had happened last night.

Your visitors had all cleared out shortly before curfew.

You’d all but pushed them out of the door while they protested leaving you alone.

While you believed Asmo’s assurances that you would be safe from Lucifer, you had no doubt that they would not be spared if they were caught breaking the smallest of rules right now. So, you had insisted that you didn’t want any of them to be caught when he did his patrol this evening, and that you weren’t going to take no for an answer from any of them.

As it turns out, Lucifer hadn’t come to your room on his rounds of checking curfew. In hindsight you probably should have expected that. He is far too proud to show his face to you until he has decided what he wants to do about your behaviour.

Such an old fashion trope, you scoff to yourself.

The damsel gets angry and shouts at the unrelenting stubborn hero, who refuses to show weakness via acting as if he has no emotions, and then he spends a week avoiding her with scotch for a companion.

_‘John Wayne would be so proud of him.’._

You roll your eyes and tut to yourself.

Wishing you hadn’t sent them away, laying here flat on your back in bed staring blankly at your ceiling, you feel desperately alone.

You don’t regret what you said at dinner, but you do have a twinge of guilt because of how awkward you’ve made it for them all. You’d honestly have preferred it if none of them ever found out the details, but Lucifer is unfairly good at pushing the right buttons to fuel your outbursts.

A sigh escapes your lips, you’re feeling overly aware that you’re thinking about it all too much.

You are never going to get to sleep at this rate.

So you give up your endeavours to find slumber, and roll out of bed lazily. You had changed into a pyjama set with a camisole style top and shorts, the cool air touching your bare shoulders and legs gave you a small shiver.

Motioning for the water vase to boil so that you could make tea, you stand in front of it idly gazing out of the windows.

Night and day look much the same here, aside for the appearance of the stars. The stillness of the air and the beauty of those tiny shining points make you feel a bit nostalgic.

You wrinkle your nose as you realise that the nostalgia is not for home, but for before this dumb week started. So much had happened in such a short time and you aren’t sure you really understand what is going on around you.

One thing you do know though, is that you’re determined to make sure the brothers continue the growth they had started since you’d arrived, Diavolo had hinted that that’s why you had been chosen after all… everything happens for a reason.

Maybe you were helping them heal or change for the better.

_‘Or maybe you’re just getting overly attached to them all?’._

You shake your head and pour the water into a teacup that you’d been preparing subconsciously while you thought. Then you discard the teabag into a small bin at the side of the station, and giggle when a Little D springs through your window to retrieve it.

“Why do you come so eagerly? The bin only has one teabag inside it… it could wait. And you should sleep.”, you lower your hand to pat his head and he leans sideways into your palm.

He closes his eyes and chirps happily. Then he swipes up the bin bag and swoops back out of the window so distractedly that he bumps into the frame on his way out.

You chuckle again, perhaps there is something in the musings that Satan had voiced about your effect on the little guys.

When you lift your cup to drink, a loud knocking causes you to jump, spilling some onto your night shirt and cursing.

“Oi human, I heard that. I know you’re awake let me in!”, Mammon’s voice boomed clearly through the door.

You ignore him.

You feel like he should apologise for his behaviour earlier, and his voice doesn’t sound as though that is what he is here to do.

“MC, you’re the only human who keeps me waiting!”, he knocked on the door again, the loud banging is enough to wake the dead.

You scowl, putting your cup back on the tea station, and heading to the door in annoyance.

He’s yelling again before you can make it there. “You should be honoured having me visiting ya.”

You open the door with a thunderous look on your face, “It wasn’t locked, idiot! Get in here before you wake the whole house!”. As you swing the door open his arm is frozen mid air where he had been about to knock again.

He pushes past you into your room with a grumble, “Took ya long enough.”.

You glare at him.

“What do you want?”, you question him tartly.

“Well I… Uhh…”, Mammon’s voice trails off as he turns to look at you.

His eyes focus on the bruise across your collar, its clearly visible with such fine straps on your shirt. It’s still a dark shade of purple despite you having used the cream that Asmo gave you again today.

He stared at it for a moment and then lifted his eyes to meet yours, his blue gaze looked pained.

He sighed. “Look… What did I tell ya about me being there to save ya? You let someone else do it again.”.

“Well I’m sorry I was preoccupied trying not to die, so didn’t have time to call you.”, you snapped at him more angrily than you meant for it to sound.

He winced at you.

“I’m supposed to protect ya and I shouldn’t have let ya go.”, he breathed out sadly.

You glare at him, there is that ‘let you’ again.

You poke his chest and glower at him, “I chose to go by my own free will. You didn’t ‘let me’ do anything. Stop behaving as if I am a child.”.

Mammon furrowed his brows, “I don’t treat ya like a child. It’s dangerous out there.”. He waved his hand towards the night sky outside with a dejected huff, “And.. I … I failed to save ya again.”.

You stared at him in disbelief, your skin prickles as you feel a brief sense of déjà vu wash over you.

“How can you have failed when you weren’t there to have been tested?”, you speak quietly.

He looks back at you wearily, “That’s my point. I’m the one who’s supposed to protect ya. But I’m never there when it matters. Lucifer has been there, Diavolo, and now even Asmo. I didn’t even know he could be so … so… selfless.”.

It dawns on you that perhaps narcissism and lust are the only parts of himself that Asmo lets other people see, even his brothers it seems. The fact that you have been let in to see more makes you feel incredibly privileged.

You sigh though, and step forward to curl your arms around the second born as he stood in front of you gloomily.

He stiffens and his cheeks immediately flush, “W-What… What are ya doing? What’s with ya?”.

You squeeze him affectionately, “I feel like I will have to repeat this five more times before we get to this daft prom at mid-season. You are going to have to get used to the fact that you can’t always be there to clean up after my dumb choices. None of you can. You are also going to get used to the fact that none of this is your fault, and I’m probably going to continue making mistakes… But I still want to come back to you all. You’re my safety. Every time.”.

He is silent for a long time.

Eventually he wraps his arms around you. He nuzzles your neck and you finally feel like you are getting somewhere with this adorable moron… then he speaks, “Well, ya better not die, or I’ll eat you myself. From the feet up! Stupid human.”.

You sigh and step away from him, “Say’s the dumb demon who thinks all my mistakes are his fault.”.

You move back to the tea station to collect your rapidly cooling tea, when you take a sip you wrinkle your nose at it and decide to abandon the beverage.

Mammon follows you and wraps his arms around your waist after you discard the cup again. “Oi, I wasn’t done holding ya. It lets me know you ain’t dead yet.”.

You bite back the urge to tease him for his lame cover up of wanting to cwtch with you. Instead you place a chaste kiss on his cheek and pry yourself from his hold. He lets go reluctantly with only a moments resistance.

“Well, I’m going back to bed. If you want to make sure I’m still alive you better climb in there with me.”, you utter at him before turning on your heels and climbing under your blankets.

His eyes shine brightly, and he gives you a dashing smile before darting to your bed, discarding all clothes but his boxers on the way.

The tanned demon lays on his back with his arms up on the pillows, bent at the elbows he rests his head back in his hands.

When you roll to face him and snuggle up to his side with your head on his shoulder, he lowers one arm to curl it around your back possessively. “I’m ya first man, don’t forget it. Next time you want to do something dumb… you better take me with ya.”.

You nod obediently, “If you say so.”.

He huffs, “Ya I do.”.

Mammon’s breathing is slow and steady, and you can hear the regular beating of his heart from where you are laying. Cwtching up with him like this feels so natural, you don’t even mind that he is still stubbornly saying idiotic stuff.

He lowers his other hand and traces it along your shoulder, then around the outline of your bruise taking care not to touch any of the skin that is darkened.

After a few moments you feel him lift his chest to speak, “Does it hurt?”.

You shake your head, “Not unless I press on it. Asmo gave me some cream to help heal it.”. 

His hand trails up your neck to the hickey, which is already turning to a light brown as it heals. “Only a cream? Or did he give ya this mark too?”.

You stiffen, but the question is gently inquisitive, not angry like you’d thought it might have been coming from him.

You lean your head back to look up at his face and softly nod. Too frightened you begrudgingly admit to yourself, to say the words to him aloud.

Mammon makes a tutting sound followed by a heavy sigh, “He better be treating my human like a princess.”.

You nod again slowly. His blue eyes have a hint of something you can’t discern.

The demon squeezes his arm around you and nuzzles your hair, “I s’pose I can’t blame ya. I’d choose him over me too.”.

You wrap your arm around his chest and squeeze him, burying your head into his shoulder, “Who said I chose him over you, and not as well as you?”.

You feel it as his breath hitches in his chest. He stutters an attempted answer but quickly gives up on his messy attempt to speak.

He holds you tightly, staying silent for a moment.

Then he pulls the blankets up over the two of you, “Shut it and get to sleep. Or Lucifer will have my hide for making ya sick from exhaustion.”.

You take that as a small victory and choose not to push the subject. You squeeze yourself to him a little tighter and sigh contentedly. “Sweet dreams Mammon.”.

You hope your dreams are sweet too, the last thing your poor heart needs now, is for another episode of you throwing a demon from your bed.


	24. Morning Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC gets a surprisingly large care package from Barbatos. Both Levi, and Belphie seem amused by it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is mostly fluffy, I don't think any warning tags apply.

You woke early to the insistent ringing of your D.D.D.

Mammon grumbled and rolled away from you, dragging a pillow over his face with an exaggerated yawn, while you fumbled to answer the offending call.

Levi’s voice came through the device loudly, “Hey Normie! You have a delivery on the porch.”.

It’s your turn to yawn and you try your best to stifle it, as you speak into the device, “Levi, what time is it?”.

“Who cares!? I’m waiting for new Secure Frenzy merchandise, and now your package has delayed the post because they have to make two trips. At least come and take it out of the way of the door.”, Levi was talking way too fast for you to keep up this early in the morning, especially after so little sleep last night.

You yawn again, “Okay, okay… I’m coming.”. You hang up the call without thinking to wait for a reply from him.

You swing your legs out of bed and sit up, blinking a few times to stave away the drowsiness.

Mammon didn’t climb out from underneath his pillow, but his arm circled your waist and he mumbled from beneath it, “Hey, it’s my time with ya. Come back to bed.”.

“No, I have plans for today.”, you lean over him and snatch away the pillow.

His hair is tousled, and his eyes look as sleepy as you feel. It’s very tempting to curl back up with him, but you promised the twins you’d help them today, so you decide you have to go and investigate the package.

You lean over to kiss his cheek; his skin is warm, and you linger there longer than you normally would. The demon’s other arm circles your back and he yanks you back onto the bed, rolling you over him to sandwich you between the wall and his body.

_‘His chest is so strong.’._

Laying there with the cool of the wall at your back and the hot muscles of his chest against yours, you get goosebumps and it is difficult not to swoon over him.

“You’re warm, you should share that with the great Mammon for longer.”, his voice is still sleepy, and his eyes had drifted back closed, but there is plenty of strength in his hold.

_‘Well … Carpe diem.’_

You seize the opportunity to Kiss him.

His lips are soft, but his body stiffens and his eyes fly open in surprise. He doesn’t pull away immediately, when he eventually does, he is adorably flushed. “Hey, you can’t just do that. Ya gotta warn a guy first.”.

You giggle and decide that it was worth the complaint.

You’re feeling much more awake now and push him back so that you can climb over him to get out of bed. He catches you quickly to stop you leaving, you are paused straddling over his hips, and he grins.

“Oh, but I’m gonna need more of that. You can’t just kiss me and run away.”, the demon easily shuffles you backwards so that he is able to sit up with you in his lap.

Beautiful blue eyes now mere inches in front of you, he raises his arms around the back of your shoulders and leans forward to kiss you. His mouth is gentle but still insistent, you take hardly any time at all to part your lips and allow him to slide his tongue inside the warmth of your mouth inquisitively.

As you wrap your arms over his shoulders you feel an excited flutter creep into your chest. You’re finding it harder to have the resolve to go downstairs.

After a few moments he pulls away with an appreciative hum and generously places butterfly kisses along your jaw and neck. You laugh and speak a warning as you lace your fingers into his hair, “You should stop that. Or I’m not going to be able to leave.”.

Mammon responds by showering the other side of your neck in kisses too, he speaks between the light contact of his lips on your skin, “That’s the point”.

You laugh again, trying hard to quail the desire to stay right here, “I made a promise. I have to go.”.

He groans at you but doesn’t stop you when you raise your leg over his lap to move off the bed. He’s looking at you like a sad puppy as you slip on some fluffy socks, you can’t resist leaning forward to kiss him sweetly on the lips before you leave. He cradles the back of your head with his hand and prolongs what was meant to be a short encounter.

When he lets go you nudge his shoulder, “Greedy.”.

He flushes again and rubs the back of his neck, “I can’t help it if I want ya to myself.”.

“I can’t break my promise. It’ll feel mean.”, you straighten again and throw on an oversized knee length knitted cardigan, you figure it won’t hurt to wander about in your pyjamas like this, besides it’s only until you fetch the parcel, then you will come back and get dressed.

You look back to him as you collect your D.D.D. and slip it into one of the pockets, “Besides, it’ll make the twins sad if I don’t help them.”.

“Whatever, it’s not like I wanted you to kiss me.”, he frowns, and you sigh. It didn’t take him long to put his roguish mask back on.

“Of course you didn’t. I’m just a human, how would **I** know what the GREAT Mammon wants?” You tease as you make your way to the door. He climbs out of bed to start dressing and watches you as you stop at the exit before leaving, “I promise I’ll make payment for it tonight, in the form of some of the treats we bake today.”.

When you arrive in the entrance hall Levi is pacing around fretting.

As soon as he saw you, he complained, “Where have you been? Your parcel is blocking the porch, what if they don’t deliver mine because they think we have already had all our deliveries today?”.

“Good morning to you too Levi.”, you chirped happily back at him. He frowned, “Why did yours arrive first anyway? It’s not fair!”.

You walked past him and he followed you to the door as you explained, “Probably because Barbatos had it delivered so it’s not the normal post. It can’t be that big, it’s only a food parcel.”.

You opened the door to collect the parcel, and stood frozen in shock as soon as you laid eyes on it. It’s the largest box you’ve ever seen besides those that carry furniture. 

You hear the faint sound of a camera snap and Levi giggling. “Human meets their match…Carboard boxes. Posted.”.

You turn to scowl at him, “I can’t believe you just put me on Devilgram **again**.”.

He flips the D.D.D. to show you the post, “But you look like a chibi doll, with your eyes all round like that.”.

You glance at the photo and sigh.

A cute chibi doll is not what comes to mind for you when you see your dazed face staring back at you from the screen. Especially without any make up, unbrushed hair and an oversized cardigan… Asmo will probably have a heart attack when he sees that amazing fashion statement.

You grimace at it, the only saving grace is that the frame doesn’t include your fluffy socks.

“More like Obaasan.”, you complain.

Levi looks at you with wide eyes, “Woah, is this a normie tactic? Did you learn that word just to trick me?”.

Ignoring him you give the box an experimental nudge.

It doesn’t move, it doesn’t even tip slightly when you press your shoulder against it more firmly. There is no way you’re going to be able to move this by yourself.

“Please help me take this to the kitchen?”, you ask when you give up and turn back to the demon still staring at you.

“See, I knew it was a trick. You want help from me.”, he covered his face with the back of his hand as a faint blush rose on his cheeks.

You gesture to the package frustratedly, “Look at it, Levi, I’ll never move it by myself.”. You pout at him and do your best impression of puppy dog eyes.

He shakes his head, “No way. I’ll miss my delivery.”.

You hate to pull this card but… “You owe me favours remember? Besides, Padawan… you are failing in learning to sustain human relationships.”.

He growls at you from behind his hand, and you swear you thought he was about to stamp his feet too, but then he sighs, “Fine. This better be quick.”.

Levi moves around you, taking care not to touch you.

You had thought he would give you help to move the package, but he easily lifts it on his own. You can’t help but stare in awe as he moves through the doors with it, although he can’t see around the box, so you end up giving him the odd directional nudge on the way to the kitchen.

It feels very strange to navigate a seemingly floating enormous box.

When you arrive in the kitchen Belphie is inside lazily spread over the small chair in the corner. He looked up intrigued when the two of you entered.

“My, my. MC, what have you gotten yourself into now? That thing is the same size as you.”, he stood from the chair to approach you, mischief written across his features.

Levi quickly places the box on the floor at the end of the kitchen table, and makes an escape without a word, before the younger brother can question him on his appearance outside of his room, and with the human in tow no less.

Belphie watched his retreat with amusement and then turned to face you. He looked you up and down, and then sized up the box next to you, “I take back what I said. It’s taller than you.”.

He patted the top of your head and pointedly pushed his hand against the side of the box, to indicate how much taller than you it is.

You cross your arms and huff, “Be nice… that’s the food for your lesson in seasonal human produce.”.

“Oh? Are you sure you’re up to that?... I mean, it’s been an eventful couple of days for you, we can do the lessons another day.”, his voice started with his usual disinterested drawl, but it had transmuted to something softer by the time he’d finished speaking.

His eyes fell to the open front of your cardigan. Although your shoulders are covered, the low square neckline of your camisole top doesn’t hide your sternum, and he can clearly see the edge of the purple bruise peeking out from the knitwear.

A weird expression crosses his face, his eyes are partially covered with his hair as always, but you caught the anger that flashed across them.

Belphie locked his eyes to your gaze and he lightly traced the edge of the bruise with his knuckles, “That’s a lot darker than I’d hoped it would be.”.

He turned away before you could think of an answer, and lazily climbed on top of the table to open the top of the box. You surmise that he isn’t up for sharing the rest of his thoughts on your injuries. You think it’s strange that the fact doesn’t fill you with relief, since the last thing you want is to have to talk about it yet again.

You curiously watch him peeking inside the box but feel empty.

_‘Do I wish he cared to ask?’._

The youngest looks down at you from his position on the table, “Why did you order so much?”.

“I didn’t order anything. I asked Barbatos for help sourcing ingredients and he agreed to have some sent to us. I had no clue he would send such a big parcel.”, you gaze back up at the demon.

From your position below him, and with his head tilted down, you can actually see both of his eyes. The violet hue in them is soft, it makes you feel warm all of a sudden and you avert your eyes quickly.

He giggled as he hopped down off the table, landing smoothly beside you.

He curled his arm around your back and pulled you into his side, squeezing your arm playfully, “Well, maybe we can use the box to mail the chihuahua back home.”.

You stifle the laugh that tries to erupt from you, and you give him your best disapproving look, “Don’t be so mean to Luke.”.

The demon pokes you in the side, “Oh come on. That was funny.”.

You poke him back.

He looks at you blankly for a few moments.

“Okay your right. We can’t do that.”, he smiles at you wickedly and squeezes you back to his side before adding, “The box is too big, he’d be thrown around inside it like a ragdoll.”.

This time you laugh unhindered, the sound echoes around in the stone kitchen making you feel awkward about how loud it is. Belphie seems to like it though, he rubs his hand along your side warmly as he tugs you back into him one more time.

He looks down at you while you are pressed against him, waiting as the laughing subsides. There is a smile on his face that is genuine, and it could easily rival the glowing charm of Satan, or the brightness of Beel.

Your heart is in your mouth as you both fall silent, and you can’t stop watching how that smile spreads up into his eyes. It is rare for you to see this man looking anything but sullen, the refreshing sight catches you by surprise, and you’re enamoured by it.

“That’s better. You had me worried that we wouldn’t get to hear you laughing again.”, he placed a kiss on your forehead. “I’ve been thinking… I promise I won’t be angry if anything ever happens to you in future, if you promise you won’t hide it from me.”.

You look at the floor feeling guilty, “I wasn’t trying to hide things from you. I didn’t know how to tell anyone. I didn’t know if I was ready to talk about it either.”.

The demon steps forward to face you so that he can circle both his arms around you, instead of just settling for you being at his side.

“Would you have told us if Lucifer hadn’t been an asshole?”, he breathed the question quietly above you, before tilting his face down to rest his cheek against your head.

You nod immediately, “Yes… Probably more privately than at dinner in front of everyone though.”.

You pull your head away to look up at him with a worried look on your face. The sullen look has returned to his face, you don’t think he is convinced.

You squeeze your own arms around his ribs and add, “Seven demons is a lot of angry reactions to deal with at once.”. He frowns at you, and you frown back, “What? You think it’s easy to deal with all of you? I’d have given anything to tell you and Beel away from the others. I still haven’t been able to check if Satan is coping okay yet.”.

He places a hand over the back of your head and draws you into his chest, “No. I know my brothers are a lot of work. Why do you think I spend so much time looking for quiet places to sleep?”.

He nuzzles the top of your head as you let your arms drop to his waist.

“Thank you, for being honest about it.”, Belphie added the thanks with a sigh, then places his hands on your shoulders and takes a step back from you. “Now… are we cooking in pyjama’s today?”.

You glance down at yourself and flush, “Absolutely not! Stop Beel from eating anything in that box before I get back please.”, you cross your fingers and wave them at him as you break away from his hold to leave the kitchen.

“I’m not making any promises.”, he calls after you through the doorway.

As soon as you thought you were out of sight you started to run along the corridor. You aren’t convinced he won’t go to sleep in your absence, so you rush back to your room to shower and change as quickly as you can.

You feel positive, today might actually go as planned, and you’re looking forward to spoiling the twins with attention… and food experiments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who said this story would finish at chapter 30?   
> ヽ༼ ツ ༽ﾉ ︵┻━┻
> 
> I am so bad at estimating... It's clear to me right now that there will be significantly more than 30 chapters. But, given my past inability to guess the end point, I am just going to say that there will be 'a lot'... and leave it at that.


	25. Human cuisine: A demon’s introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC explains all sorts, from growing fruit to cooking seafood safely while explaining human foods to the twins. They cook a few test dishes and decide on a direction for the prom menu, as well as making sure the other occupants of the house are well fed for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made some assumptions here in order for the story to flow.  
> Firstly - The brothers know how to cook, so MC doesn't need to teach them that - only explain the use of ingredients that are new to them.  
> Secondly - Belphie hasn't been back to the human world in centuries due to his old hatred, but still remembers some things about it.  
> Lastly - The other brothers would only have experienced a handful of human foods in recent times since the portal is closed, and they would have no clue where those foods come from.

After a quick shower, you apply more cream to your bruises. The hickey is now fortunately a faint yellow, and the larger bruise is much less painful, although still a dark reminder of what happened.

You dress casually in some loose black linen trousers and a light floral t-shirt. You also pull your hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of your face while you cook.

Before heading back to the kitchen, you decide to send a message to Satan to check in with him. You asked if he would like to join you later to try some of the foods that are going to be tested today.

He answers you quickly, but politely declines. You curse yourself and feel like you missed the opening to ask how he is doing, since he’d already dismissed the conversation.

You try to justify why he is busy, so that you don’t think too much about his refusal. Satan often has a busy social calendar, between that and his studies it’s normal for him to put off invitations. You sigh, reminding yourself that he usually only puts you off for a day or two, rather than flat out says no.

You can’t force him to accept your invitations though, and you can only deal with one thing at a time, so for now… it’s onwards to a day of experimenting for the Prom menus.

A little disheartened you head to the kitchen.

In the kitchen the twins are busy unpacking the package when you arrive. You lean against the door frame and watch with amusement.

Belphie is on top of the table as he had been earlier and passing items down to Beel, who is dutifully arranging them neatly across the table. The ginger demon pauses occasionally to turn over the items in his hand with interest.

“Why are so many of these things covered in dirt?”, he voices the question as he places a net full of parsnips onto the table.

Belphie shrugs at his brother, before he dips his head back into the top of the box to retrieve the next item, “Humans grow a lot of stuff underground.”.

Beel frowns, as Belphie hands him radishes, also with the dirt still on them, “I thought their fruit grew on trees?”.

Belphie frowns back, “That’s not fruit. Obviously.”.

It’s when the youngest turns back to the box again that he spots you in the doorway, he grins at you and gestures to the table, “Thought we’d get a head start. Welcome back.”.

Beel turns to follow his brothers gaze towards you, “Good morning.”.

A shy smile spreads across his face and he waves the bag of radishes at you, “What are these?”.

“Radish. It’s a vegetable. I only ever use them in salads.”, you answer easily as you walk towards him and take a closer look at the table.

The surface is almost full already, there is a plethora of fruit and vegetables, pantry basics like flour and sugar, some herbs and spices in cute handwritten pouches, and more shellfish than you’ve ever seen in one place before.

Barbatos really outdid himself sourcing these ingredients, there’s more than you could possibly make full use of today.

You feel a pang of guilt that some of it might waste, but as Beel leans past you to place the small vegetables onto the table, you’re reminded that there is never a waste of food in this house. On cue to your thought’s his stomach rumbles.

Belphie complains from his position on the table, “I can’t reach down into the bottom of the box from here, you’re going to have to help.”.

You look back at him puzzled, “You’re taller than me. If you can’t reach, how do you expect me to?”.

He smiled brightly down at you, “I’ll put you inside and you can hand stuff out to me.”.

You aren’t sure you heard that correctly, “You’re joking right?”.

You fold your arms across your chest and glare at him.

Belphie just blinked back at you with a feigned innocence, “Why not? It’s that or tip it upside down.”.

“No way, **you** climb inside it.”, you huff back at him.

He hops off the table and places his hands on your waist, you don’t have time to react before he lifts you easily on to the table in his place.

“You’re smaller than me, you’ll be able to bend and collect stuff from the bottom.”, his voice is even, and you find yourself staring down at him, you can’t believe he is being serious.

He also hasn’t let you go yet.

You throw your hands up in frustration, “I’m not climbing in there. I’ve already had one ridiculous photo taken of me today…Besides, I’ll crush the food that’s left in there.”.

Beel had been watching the two of you quietly and has clearly decided that he’s had enough of the back and forth.

He walks around the back of his brother to the box. He reaches to the top of the box and places a hand either side of the corner, before taring down the side of it as though it were only paper. He then repeated it with the other corner of the side facing towards him, and bends the remaining portion of the wall back on itself down to the floor.

“Now you can both reach from the floor.”, he points at the bottom of the box as he speaks.

There is no trace of annoyance in his voice, he was simply being his usual practical self.

It gives your heart strings a pull when he tilts his head up and beams one of his amazing smiles up at you. His violet eyes twinkle with the edges of the smile, he looks so perfect like that.

Without warning Belphie tugs you back down off the table, easily catching you and holding you close as he sets you back on the floor. He leans into your ear before he lets you go and sighs, “Well, definitely can’t post the chihuahua anywhere in it now.”.

He seems content when you respond with a surprised laugh. He lets you go and moves to start pulling the last items out of the box.

The remaining content was mostly meat and fish, it didn’t take long to decant the last packages. You’re grateful to see more handwritten labels on the neatly butchered cuts. Some of them look almost identical and you know you would have no hope of identifying them otherwise.

The three of you now stand staring at the ingredients amassed on the table, you have no idea where to start. The mountain of food looks incredibly appetising, you can’t remember the last time you saw so many familiar foods together, though you don’t think you actually missed many of them now that you come to think of it.

Belphie spoke as if reading your mind, “Alright, now what? What do you want to do first?”.

“Can I eat any of this now?”, Beel looks at you with pleading eyes.

You feel like it must have been torture for him to have spent so much time unpacking food and not eating anything in the process. You scan the table for fruit, you guess fruits will be the least used ingredients, and are the first to pass their ‘use by’ so it seems like a good place to start.

After a quick look over it, you fish a punnet of plums out from the pile. You pop it open and hold out the package to him.

When he picks a piece of fruit out of the punnet you can’t help but notice how small it looks in his hand, you’d never really considered plums as small before, but now you feel like this snack isn’t going to last long for the towering demon.

Beel turns it over in his hand and smells it cautiously.

It takes you by surprise, given that it isn’t unheard of for him to eat plates, tablecloths and paintings, you’re amazed that he didn’t just try it immediately. You’re lost in thought when he actually does try the fruit and realise belatedly that you’re too slow to tell him about the stone. You try to draw his attention before he swallows it whole, but he is too quick.

The demon surveys your panicked expression with mild concern. “Are you okay?”, he asked softly and fished another plum from the punnet.

You catch his wrist with your hand, “These have stones that you can’t eat. I’m sorry I should have warned you.”.

You can hear Belphie chuckling beside you, “ **Humans** can’t eat them, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.”.

You look at the youngest with a frown, “Fruit stones contain cyanide.”.

He shrugs back at you, “It’s one seed. Chill, he will be fine.”.

Beel watches the two of you and shrugs, “I’ve eaten worse poisons. But um… those are already small and you’re saying there’s bits in it you don’t eat?”.

You know that one stone won’t hurt of course, but you don’t want him to make a habit of doing that, “To be honest, we remove parts of most fruits and vegetables. Come to think of it, I guess we are pretty delicate.”.

You take the plum back from the ginger demon and take it to a chopping board to cut it open and remove the stone.

Belphie snorts at you, “Now you admit humans are delicate?”.

“I’m not justifying that with an answer.”, you huff back at him as you twist open the fruit at the line you’d cut and separate the stone to show it to Beel. He wrinkled his nose at you, “But, you just answered.”.

Feeling outnumbered you poke your tongue out at them. Then you turn away to busy yourself cutting open a few more plums. You pile the flesh of the fruit into a bowl and push the stones to the end of the chopping board.

When you turn to hand the bowl to Beel he frowns, “That seems like a lot of wasted stuff, the pile of things you don’t eat is almost the same size as what’s left.”.

You shrug, “It’s just the way it is for humans I guess. We have to prep almost everything we eat in some way or another.”.

Belphie had retreated to the chair where he was holding his cow pillow in his lap and leaning forward onto it, he took this opportunity to look up from it and add, “Because, they’re ‘ _delicate_ ’.”.

You glare at him.

He is hiding half of his face but you can still tell that he is smirking at you from behind the pillow. “Alright genius, since you know so much about us… what season are plums ripe to eat?”.

He waved his hand at you, “Depends on where you live.”.

_‘Why does he enjoy tormenting me?’._

You sigh, “Well, I’m from the UK.”.

“The cold, damp middle ground of Europe.”, he trains his eyes on you and seems amused when you glare back at him.

“Yes…well done. It rains a lot.”, you roll your eyes and turn away from him to scoop the plum stones into the bin.

You hear him chuckle, “Yes. But you also get a full four seasons. I’m so jealous… you see sunny cloudless skies, rain showers, thunderstorms, frost, even snow.”.

You turn back to him and spot a wistful look to his eyes.

“For the record… We pick plums in summer. The sun ripens them.”, you smile at him and head back towards the table to take a seat. Closely followed by Beel, who nudges you when he takes a seat too, “So some of your foods need sunshine to grow?”.

You nod, “Exactly. Some plants won’t even flower if they don’t get enough light.”.

“That sounds complicated. Our fruits are much less picky about where they grow.”, he pops some more fruit in his mouth and smiles.

“That’s why we have seasonal food, some are only available for short times unless we force them to grow artificially. I personally think they don’t taste as nice that way, but it’s useful to make sure people get fed year round.”, you express your opinion absentmindedly as you look for other summer fruits in the pile to show them.

Spotting some raspberries, you pull out the punnet with a victorious smile, “These are summer fruits too, but you can eat them whole, they don’t need any prep. Though, we used to float them in water to check there were no worms in them when we were kids.”.

Beel frowns, “Those are tiny.”.

You can’t help but laugh, “Yeah, most berries are. Try them though, they’re nice.”.

He picks a couple out of the punnet when you offer it up to him and obediently tried them. You giggle again when he wrinkles his nose, “They’re sharp.”

“Yeah, some are I suppose.”, you fish a few more out of the punnet and reach over to hand them to Belphie, who eyes you suspiciously before trying them.

He smiles but doesn’t offer his opinion on the taste. Instead he brings the discussion around to the Prom, “Since there are four seasons, I figure it makes sense to have a four-course meal, with a few options for each course. Might as well keep things simple.”.

Beel nods in agreement.

It seems like a fair enough assessment to you, so you keep the conversation on this track, “Which season do you want to start with?”.

The youngest thinks for a moment, “I guess spring makes sense. Seems to be when most things are born so it’s as good a place to start as any.”.

Beel nods again, “Plus that would mean that winter is dessert… so we can choose some cold foods to match the theme.”.

You smile at them both, you are encouraged that they are in agreement and seem to have already put some thought into their allocated tasks. It’s going to be easier to help them choose a menu if they already have a rough idea of where they want to take the theme.

“Okay, lets start with spring then.”, your voice bubbles with excitement as you continue, “Spring appetisers, summer fish dish, autumn meat dish, and winter desserts.”.

Both demons nod their agreement, and you hop to your feet to collect spring ingredients from the table. “Appetizers should be light, my favourite thing about spring food is early greens.”, you wave a neatly tied bundle of asparagus at them.

Before you know it, you’re slipping into action and pointing to various things asking for assistance. The brothers are happy to comply and Beel hovers closely, curiously watching over your shoulder as you start cooking.

It feels like no time at all before the three of you have completed today’s breakfast, eggs benedict over asparagus. This is your favourite brunch treat back home, and you’re looking forward to sharing it with your fellow house mates. Though, you don’t think you’ve ever prepared so many portions at once before.

As if the smell had been calling them, Asmo and Mammon make an appearance in the kitchen just as Belphie is carefully dividing the hollandaise between the plates.

“Ooh this looks so pretty!”, Asmo happily chirps as he approaches the table to investigate the amassed food. “I didn’t know you were so talented.”, he winks at you and you flush on cue at his double-edged compliment.

Mammon on the other hand is standing with his hands on his hips doing his best to ignore the inviting smells, “All of this food must be worth a fortune.”.

You find yourself nodding in response, you hadn’t thought about it until now, but there is so much food here you would never have been able to buy it all in one go back home.

The five of you chatted aimlessly while you ate breakfast together in the kitchen.

In between conversation, you also fussed around the stove with some pans that you were using to make a pea and ham soup. Pea shoots always made you think of spring, so in your mind at least, this is the perfect example dish for an appetiser.

The brothers asked about various ingredients with mild curiosity and you happily explained anything you could.

Once breakfast had finished and the plates had been cleaned and put away, Mammon and Asmo took their leave while carrying plates for those who had been absent.

Asmo had assured you with a sweet kiss to your cheek that the plates would be delivered intact, and that he would stop Mammon from selling them off, or some other ridiculous scheme. The second born had protested the insinuation and shooed his younger brother from the kitchen amid complaints about being disrespected.

Next came the main courses, and the twins had agreed that cooking them together now would make dinner today more interesting. So, on you went picking ingredients from the table.

Beel watched you tumble mixed shellfish into a pot with fascination, “You can’t eat the shells though, why put them in whole?”.

“When the shells open, the food is safely cooked. It’s easy for us to get poisoning from seafood.”, you boop him on the nose with the tip of a wooden spoon, as you usher him out of your way, so that you can collect more ingredients.

Belphie handed you a bottle of wine when you gestured to it over the table, “Aren’t they supposed to be cooked fresh?”.

You nod, “Yeah, many chefs think it’s sacrilege to freeze shellfish. But I intentionally asked Barbatos for frozen ones. Cooking fresh means you’re boiling them alive. I’ve never liked that idea.”.

The youngest looks surprised, “Sounds like something demons would do honestly.”.

You pause on your way back to the stove to consider his statement.

There is an irony in the fact that you used to believe the only real demons were humans who were cruel to other living creatures, and each other. Now that you’ve met actual demons, you don’t believe your old thoughts are completely wrong.

Denizens had their darker aspects of course, but they have shown you they are perhaps capable of more humanity than many people you’ve met back home.

Once you’d added the wine to the pot to complete the sauce, you moved back to the chopping board and peeled potatoes. Intending for them to roast along side some venison that Beel had chosen from the many game meats you’d been provided in the package.

Game is you’re favourite thing about autumn, so it makes you warm and fuzzy that that had been his option, especially when the meat is usually expensive and you can’t remember the last time you got to have some.

“Can you guys peel some parsnips and carrots to go with these please?”, you ask over your shoulder as you plop the first potato into a pan to parboil.

There is an argumentative fussing behind you after a while, when you turn to investigate, Belphie is moving things around on the table to check underneath various bundles and packets.

He Passes the parsnips to Beel and then catches your attention, “There’s no carrots here.”.

“There are, I saw them earlier.”, you walk to the table to help them and easily find the bundle of carrots, complete with soft green plumes still attached.

When you hold it up to pass them to him the demon looks at you in confusion, “Carrots are purple, what are those?”.

Now it’s your turn to look confused. You glance between the two of them and then back to the bundle of carrots, “No, they are definitely orange.”.

“I’ve seen carrots before. They were **purple**.”, Belphie folds his arms over his chest in irritation.

You stare at him for a long while before the situation dawns on you. It’s been a very long time since he would have last visited the human world, carrots probably only turned orange after he last visited. It’s easy for you to forget the true age of these men who look so young to you.

You wave the bundle of vegetables at him until he indignantly extends a hand to take them from you with a huff, when you explain, “They aren’t purple anymore. We cross-bred them to make them orange. Purple ones are only grown by artisan farmers now, hardly anyone uses them.”.

He still looked as if he doubted the explanation but busied himself preparing them for you anyway, and you went back to your potatoes.

“Interestingly, we used to think they were poisonous… I don’t know if that’s why they were cross-bred.”, you add to your thoughts on the root vegetables by talking over your shoulder at him.

At that moment Beel’s hands brushed your arm as you turned your head to find his face alarmingly close to yours, he had approached you to add the parsnips to your pot. You both flushed and pulled away from each other in silence.

Conversation between the three of you rolled on smoothly while you waited for dinner to cook, and fussed with various fruits to make desserts too.

You made sure to include a strawberry and cream Victoria sponge; it was one of the first things you learned to bake when you were little with your mother. It is also the only cake you still know how to bake from memory.

You are convinced that baking is a dark art since it is so precise, and you normally end up making a mess with anything else you attempt.

You make a mental note to ask Luke for help with the desserts whenever you get the opportunity this week. If the brothers decide they do want patisserie as they’d suggested in the last meeting, you will definitely be out of your depth, and are going to need his expertise.

Mammon reappeared in the kitchen around the time for plating up, you began to wonder if he was intentionally spying for the perfect moment to pop in.

In the usual style of dinner in the house of Lamentation, you had arranged food onto platters to be shared rather than individual plates.

“These look pretty swanky. I bet ya Barbatos couldn’t match this for Diavolo.”, the second born looked over the platters in awe as Beel helped you to empty the roast vegetables onto the last one.

“Well, lets hope they are both impressed when they get some of this at the prom.”, you smile innocently as you push a platter into his hands for him to carry into the dining room for you.

He stutters at you, “Y-Yeah well… They probably will, it ain’t bad for human food.”.

You glare at him, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”.

You could see Belphie smirking behind him as he collected a platter of his own to carry. He shooed his older brother out of the kitchen with a sulky huff, “It’s better than anything **you** make.”.

You’re left standing in the kitchen with Beel who is wearing his familiar gentle smile, “Don’t listen to him. It’s all really impressive. We’d never have come up with all these things without your help.”.

The demon is towering over you as he passes you a platter and squeezes your shoulder reassuringly when you take it from him.

You notice that he made sure it was the smallest platter, normally you would roll your eyes at the brothers for insinuating that humans are weak by doing that, but from him… the action was sweet.

_‘He is a real-life gentle giant. And, it’s fucking adorable’._

You can’t help but feel some butterflies wizz around your chest as you watch him pick up two large trays as if they weigh nothing.

Then he ushers you out to the dining room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a lot of knowledge about world foods, so to keep things immersive MC only talks about cuisine that I know and understand.  
> I'm only avoiding other cultures foods out of my own terror, because I wouldn't want to butcher a description of your cuisine. =^.^=


	26. Tasting new things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC isn't convinced that Asmo and Mammon aren't up to something, but dinner passes pleasantly anyway. The little Ds and Beel make for interesting clean up partners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MC spends time talking with Beel about past events in the game story as well as previous chapters of this fiction, this might bring up sensitive topics for some.  
> Triggers are all based on these conversations: Panic attacks, fighting between characters, mentions of the Lady L.

Levi and Asmo are finishing up setting plates on the dining table when you and Beel catch up with the others.

You place the platter you’d been carrying onto the table and turn to head back to the kitchen to collect the last of the food. Beel quickly stops you though, insisting that you should sit and that he would collect it.

Feeling like you have no chance of winning this particular challenge you reluctantly agree and take your usual seat.

Levi passes down some cutlery for you, and Asmo takes the opportunity to have an excuse to get close to you. He brushes against your shoulder as he leans over you to place a glass at your table setting.

“Dinner looks fabulous.”, he coos near to your ear, allowing his lips to brush temptingly across your cheek as he stands back up.

You feel heat rising into your face furiously and can only hope that no one else noticed his touch.

Luckily for you, Belphie is absorbed in a conversation with Levi about the seasonal fruits they had learned of today, all of which Levi apparently insists will go well with rum. You’re curious if he actually thinks rum goes with **everything**. He’s a naval officer after all, in the human world you’re pretty sure that they have rum instead of blood in their veins.

Mammon isn’t quite as distracted by the conversation, and he glares at the avatar of lust as he takes his own seat across the table. Asmo responds to the glare with a cheery smile, which causes the blue-eyed demon beside you to clench his jaw.

You wince, preparing for the outburst that is about to come.

You’re shocked when nothing happens though.

The second born continues to bore holes into his brother with that glare but doesn’t say a word.

You stare at him dumbfounded, and practically jump out of your skin when he moves his hand under the table to rest it on your thigh.

Asmo winks at you from across the table and you have to wonder what on earth these two have been discussing today, while you’ve been in the kitchen out of earshot.

It’s a relief when Beel reappears with the last of the side dishes, he shuffles some things about on the table to make space for them, then takes his seat at your other side.

He gestures towards the empty seats at the far end of the table, “Are those two not coming tonight?”.

“Oh yeah, I forgot… Lucifer said something about needing to go to a meeting with Diavolo. He won’t be back tonight.”, Levi responded distractedly as he took photos of some of the food.

“Pfft, more like he is avoiding MC.”, Asmo tittered and rolled his eyes.

_‘Would he really still be avoiding me? Are things that bad?’._

You look at him with worry in your eyes and he adds, “It’s not unlike him to have a strop and bury himself in extra work to avoid the problem. Don’t worry… He will get over it.”.

“What about Satan?”, you ask with concern. You haven’t seen the avatar of wrath since dinner yesterday, and you’re starting to worry.

Mammon removes his hand from your thigh to run it along the back of his neck, “Don’t ya worry about him. The Great Mammon will take him a plate later.”.

You raise an eyebrow at him, “Is he busy?”.

“Ah… yeah. Books and stuff.”, Mammon shifts his eyes away from you and shrugs.

He exchanges a glance with Asmo who takes over the explanation after glaring at him, “Darling…he is studying. He asked us to thank you for breakfast this morning.”.

It’s not unlike Satan to get wrapped up in his studies, but these two are acting strange and this hasn’t put your mind at ease about him at all.

“I’ll take the plate to him later.”, you offer. You want to see for yourself that he is just busy and there isn’t anything more to it.

Mammon bristles, “Hey, I said I’d do it. What?... Do ya not trust me? With Lucifer not here it’s my job to make sure everything is okay. If he can’t pull himself away from his room, I’ll make sure he at least eats.”.

He frowns at you and waves his hands at you dismissively.

_‘Ugh fine. Child.’._

You scowl at him but decide to drop the conversation.

“In that case, I guess it’s time to eat.”, Belphie concluded, shooting the second born a glare of his own.

After that, dinner went pretty smoothly.

The demons present asked various questions about the food offered up to them, and in a repeat of your amicable responses this morning you explained whatever you could.

The soup has been potted up for portable lunches to R.A.D. in the morning and there was also plenty of ingredients left to make breakfast and dinner, probably on Tuesday too.

You assume that an empty table is a sign that the meal was enjoyed. Belphie had helped you plate up some food for Satan before Beel had eaten most of it with an appreciative smile.

Now Asmo is pushing Mammon out of the dining room to make his promised delivery, as you and the twins stack plates to return them to the kitchen for washing.

A small assembly of little Ds appeared as they often seemed to around you, and formed a chain to pass the crockery and silverware between them out to the kitchen sink. Beel dodged them with more agility than you would think a person of his size would be able to muster, as he collected the glasses onto a tray.

Belphie had taken their arrival as a cue to duck out of work, and was already sleeping underneath the table, having not even been bothered to go to a different room for comfort.

As much as his ability to sleep practically anywhere amazed you, it was more surprising that it’s the first time he has napped all day. He had even been compliant and helpful during cooking, although not without prompting.

With a tray of glasses each you accompanied Beel to the kitchen.

Once there, you placed your glasses onto the table and shooed some little Ds away from the sink, so you could fill it with soapy hot water.

The dark little helpers had moved aside without much complaint, though you could have sworn that one growled, possessively defending his position stacking the plates beside you as they arrive on the chain from the dining room.

“Looks like he is determined to be your helper.”, Beel laughed as he placed his tray next to yours.

You nod and reach out to pet your spooky little helper. He held his hands up to halt the train of crockery while he nuzzled into your hand, and then happily returned to his task.

These guys seriously remind you of cats, not for the first time since you arrived, you wondered if you’d get away with taking some home with you. Then you frowned, you would rather not think about going home.

As you busied yourself washing dishes, Beel came to stand at the counter on the opposite side of you to the little Ds. The devils reluctantly went off on their way once all items had been returned from the dining room.

The tall demon beside you picked up some of the cleaned plates and dried them to put them away as you cleaned. “Thank you for today. It was nice to spend time learning from you.”.

You smile at him brightly, “I enjoyed it. You two are good students.”.

He nods thoughtfully, “It reminded me of when Lilith was with us, Belphie stayed awake the whole day.”. He paused and looked at you as if deciding weather or not to say anymore, but continued anyway, “He likes you. I like seeing him interested in things again. I think she’d have liked you too.”.

He smiled wistfully and you felt your heart strings tug for him as they had earlier today.

“What about you?”, you ask softly.

Then immediately turn your face towards the dishes and stubbornly keep your eyes on the water for fear of blushing at him. You’d asked without thinking and you know you’re not prepared for the answer.

“I care about you a lot. I worry about you too, you’ve been off lately, and now with the attack… I feel like I never want you to leave the house again.”, he sighs and sets the towel he had been using down on the counter.

He sounds concerned, and it reminds you that you never got the chance that you’d hoped, to talk to him about what happened in the gym.

You rest your hands on the edge of the sink and swallow slowly, “You know… I already owe you my thanks. You really don’t need to worry any more about me.”.

You shake your head and add with a small rueful smile, “I’m definitely learning from my mistakes.”.

Beel leans back against the counter and watched you carefully. “I only do what anyone who cares would. I don’t like to see you sad or hurt.”.

You turn to look at him directly and sigh, “I still owe you an explanation for the panic attack that you stopped. I can’t explain how much that help meant to me, and I feel bad that you don’t know why.”.

He shrugged, “You don’t owe me anything. You don’t need to explain your business… I’m just glad it helped you.”.

The enormous demon looks so gentle, standing there looking at you as if you were a porcelain doll, you feel your heartbeat quicken and hope that he can’t sense it.

You wave your hands expressively and little droplets of water fall from them to the floor as you answer him, “You figured out that it was connected to Levi though didn’t you?”.

He nods slowly.

“Well, we had a fight and I just made his anger worse. He said some very nasty things to me. About Asmo, and about you. He pinned my hands too, I guess it frightened me more than I’d wanted to admit… When I was running my mind just flew off with the thoughts, and before I knew what was happening I was in your arms.”, you shift your eyes to the floor and add to the explanation, “I thought you should know, I felt like I’d only given you a half truth.”.

You hear him shuffle but you don’t look up.

“I don’t want there to be any secrets. Secrets have already done enough damage to our family. You didn’t need to explain… but thank you for trusting me to tell me.”. You are encircled in his arms before he has finished speaking and you are surrounded by his warmth.

You tip toe to nuzzle against his shoulder, your arms circle around him too. His muscles are strong but not restrictive, it feels like a protective cage, a safe space.

_‘Who would have thought that these demons would be so good at cwtching?’._

“I guess with everything that happened this week… all of that seems silly now.”, you sigh into his shirt.

He shakes his head, “It’s never silly. We all have our own nightmares, and they are always real at the time.”.

He squeezes you gently and leans his head down to rest his chin on top of yours.

For a while the two of you just enjoy each other’s presence, the comfort of knowing that you understand each other is holding you both in place together quietly.

Eventually Beel moves his head to nuzzle your hair, when he stills again he speaks softly, “You’re one of us now, I want to help you keep those nightmares away if you’ll let me.”.

You tilt your head to look up to him and he lets his violet gaze wash over your face as you reply, “As long as you let me help with yours too.”.

A smile creeps up to those purple hued orbs and you barely feel him move to hold you tighter. In an instant your feet are leaving the ground as he steps into the kitchen to spin you around, “You already did. Thanks to you, Belphie is back and I know Lilith was happy.”.

He plants your feet back on the ground softly, still holding you tight against his chest you can feel his heart beating. It’s strong and steady, just like the rest of him and you feel faint for a second as your own heart skips a beat. You grip his shirt with both hands to steady yourself, his face is so close to yours now that the proximity makes you gasp.

Heat rises to Beel’s face in response and he drops his arms away from you immediately, he drops his eyes to the floor too, “I’m sorry. I get excited when I think about how you came and fixed everything.”.

You place a hand on his cheek and wait for him to look back into your eyes before you speak, “Don’t be sorry. I was just surprised. I like it when you hold me.”.

The demon in front of you breathes in making you believe he is going to respond, but he lets the air back out without a word. There is a small pause while he decides what to say to you.

He is still looking at you, and you can clearly see the golden hues that decorate his violet irises when he is happy. You’ve seen it often, Beel isn’t one to hold back what he is thinking, and most days his happy demeanour is warm like sunshine.

You’re lost in the comforting galaxies when his arms curl around your waist.

His hands settling gently against the small of your back at the same time as he leans forward, and his lips settle on yours. He is warm, inviting, and smells faintly of strawberries after dinner.

You kiss him back instinctively. You let your hand trace around to the back of his neck and into his hair, your other hand presses into his chest tracing your fingertips along his sternum.

You gravitate towards him and find yourself pressing against him in no time.

He trails one hand up your spine and spreads his palm out between your shoulder blades, pulling you even closer as his tongue traces your lower lip.

Your breath catches when he pulls the lip into his mouth and nips it gently before releasing it again. You can feel your blood thundering around your veins now, your heart’s heady pace has a warmth settling into your stomach.

He repeats the action and hums against your lips in appreciation, “You taste amazing.”.

His hand roams down your back and traces your waist and the sides of your rib cage. The exploring heat sends tingles to your spine and you moan softly into his lips when he kisses you again.

The sound spurs the gentle giant to slide his tongue into your mouth, to taste the warmth inside.

You feel giddy and glide your hand from his chest to his waist to anchor yourself for support. He hums against your lips and you feel him roll his hips into yours. 

Somewhere in the back of your mind you register a thud sound, and you’re left feeling cold and shocked when Beel breaks the kiss to look up over your head.

He has already released you and is starting to step away from you too, when the sound of someone else’s voice drags you out of the moment and back to earth with a bump.

“Well… that’s an interesting way to end dinner.”.

You whirl around to see Belphie standing with is head cocked to the side and watching the two of you. You squeeze your eyes shut and curse at yourself.

_‘How many times is this damned demon going to be the one to catch me out?’._

You feel embarrassed at being caught unaware like this, and you’re positive that your blush is reaching all the way to the tips of your ears. You also still feel dizzy from the embrace and silently prey that you aren’t visibly swaying.

Belphie smirks at you as he wanders to the sink, “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just getting a glass of water to take to bed.”.

He fishes a glass idly out of a cupboard and then walks towards you quietly; his eyes don’t leave you until he reaches the sink to fill it at the tap. He intentionally lets the back of his hand trace against your waist as he turns away from you to leave.

Beel coughs at him, but he takes no notice.

Though he turns to address you again before he is past the table, “I might not go to our room though. Unless the two of you want company.”.

It’s not a question and you know he is intentionally teasing you. He does not wait for a response and turns on his heels to stalk out of the room.

You feel tension leave your shoulders and you sigh in relief when he is gone from the doorway.

Beel steps past you with a dejected sigh.

He looks adorably flustered, his lips are enticingly swollen, but the moment is already lost.

He gently squeezes your shoulder, “I’m sorry. I’d better check he hasn’t gone off to sulk.”.

You nod at him and quell the urge to protest him leaving.

You know how important it is to him for Belphie to be happy, and you don’t want to get in the way of that. Especially after everything that has happened.

This isn’t how you expected your evening to go, and just when you think you are starting to get the hang of things happening around you… the twins have you as confused as ever about your own feelings.


	27. Lavender and provocation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC struggles to shake her thoughts about her encounter with Beel in the kitchen, so when Asmo invites her to share his bath she accepts happily - rather than lay in bed awake all night staring at the ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning tags - This chapter is pretty playful over all, but there is smut in the latter half. As before, if you would prefer to skip NSFW content, you can skip this chapter and the next update will resume the story.

**Asmodeus:** I have a new bath oil mix <3

 **Asmodeus:** Say you’ll come and try it out.

 **MC:** That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

 **MC:** With or without you in the bath too?

 **Asmodeus:** Darling… would I have an ulterior motive?

 **MC:** YES

 **Asmodeus:** It’s lavender and camomile. A perfect way to end a Sunday night so that you’ll be refreshed in the morning. It’s great for your skin too.

 **Asmodeus:** ～(^з^)-♡

 **Asmodeus:** I also have Epsom salt. I got them after checking with Satan, he said humans use it to heal aching muscles.

 **MC:** I don’t believe you.

 **MC:** But I’m coming anyway.

 **MC:** (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

 **Asmodeus:** Perfect. The door will be open for you love.

 **MC:** You better already be in that bath when I get there.

 **Asmodeus:** Oh, how demanding.

 **Asmodeus:** ヾ（〃＾∇＾）ﾉ♪

* * *

After returning to your room from the kitchen, you’d spent the remainder of your evening picking through any homework that you had left. It was a slow slog as your mind kept wandering off, memories of so many different things from this weekend popping in and out of your thoughts unannounced.

It also feels almost impossible to shake off the tugging in your chest after your encounter with Beel.

Typically for Asmo it was late evening before he messaged you, and though you are tempted to go to bed early, you know you would struggle to sleep anyway. So you might as well take him up on his offer, there was still an hour and a half before curfew anyway, plenty of time for a soak in the bath.

You pack away your books into your bag and place it over the back of your desk chair ready for the morning, then make your way to Asmo’s room.

The corridors are empty, and the house seems quiet. It feels odd, in Lucifer’s absence at least one of the brothers would usually be causing mischief.

Although, that kind of mischief is usually led by Satan and Belphie because Mammon is perfectly capable of getting himself into trouble, regardless of the eldest’s presence. So with Satan apparently caught up in his studies and Belphie no doubt sleeping off a busy day, there is just an eerie silence to the building.

Asmo’s door is unlocked as promised, when you enter the room you can hear pleasant piano music floating out of the bathroom. You can also smell the faint lavender of the oils, even from the doorway. 

You click the door closed behind you and pad across the impeccably shiny floor.

“Darling… It took you forever to get here.”, Asmo greets you with a pout as you step into the bathroom.

You’re amused that he actually has slipped himself into the bath to wait for you. Though you’re not surprised, you can’t imagine he would ever miss the opportunity to be naked if it arose.

From his chest up is still dry, and his hair is immaculately styled as always.

The water has a faint milky cloud to it and rose petals are floating gently on the surface. The warmth of the water has heated the room a little and the steam already felt relaxing.

You bend forward to fish a petal out of the water and turn it over in your hands taking in the beautiful shade of red as you answer, “I’m here now so no need to look so sad.”.

Asmo smiles and flicks a small splash of water at you, “Disappointingly still fully clothed though.”.

You laugh and slip off your shoes, “I suppose I should join you since you went through the agony of waiting for me.”.

You roll your eyes at him as you slide off your socks and pop them into your shoes.

“Feisty today aren’t we?”, he coos softly.

Water trailed down his back as he leaned over the edge to pour some champagne into glasses that had been resting at the edge of the bath for you both. He held one out to you and you accept it gratefully.

You take a sip before you answer him, “No. Just a little wound up that’s all.”.

He hummed at you with a finger touching his lip innocently, “I can tell. Hurry up and get in here so we can fix that.”.

He winked and dropped his hand to take a sip of the bubbling liquid too.

You set the glass down and open a few buttons on your shirt, before leaning over the edge of the bath to kiss him sweetly after he placed his own glass back on the side. “I thought you said you didn’t have an ulterior motive.”.

The demon wagged his finger at you, “No, you taught me how to lawyer… I asked you **if** I would have one. I didn’t say that I do not.”.

He deliberately dipped his hands into the water before capturing your shoulders to push you back upright.

You looked at the wet material of your shirt with a sigh but couldn’t bring yourself to frown when he chuckled at you.

He teased lazily, “You should get a shimmy on, or I’ll pull you in still clothed and strip you in the water.”.

Your eyes widen as you look at him, “You wouldn’t dare.”.

He splashes you again, this time with more water than before, “Are you sure you want to test that darling?”.

You squeak and raise your hands to try and block the water, but it’s no help.

He stared you dead in the eye, after you stopped picking at your now soaking wet shirt with a pout.

As much as you’re tempted to see what would happen, you decide you would rather save your trousers if you can and obediently open the rest of your shirt buttons.

But, you also can’t resist poking the bear a little, so you lean forward to swish your hand through the water, cupping some in your palm and dumping it over Asmo’s head as you spin away from him and dart to the edge of the bathroom.

When you turn back to look at him, he is a mixture of irritation and shock, looking back at you with damp strands of hair sticking to the side of his face.

He simply sits still blinking at you a few times in disbelief.

You can’t help but laugh at the image in front of you, he is always so neatly put together and this dishevelment is curiously attractive.

The demon pursed his lips and tutted.

His eyes don’t leave you as he rises to his feet in a single movement. Water shed from his skin as he stepped forward, and then easily over the edge of the round tub to stand on the floor.

Droplets formed together to track miniature streams over the curve of his hips and descend his legs. You find yourself watching one of those trails for a moment to long and are surprised by how close he gets to you in such a short time.

You sweep your arm up to avoid his hand extending to catch your wrist, and then spin to the side to dodge his attempt to lower it and catch your waist instead.

You let out a shriek mixed with laughter as his other hand circles your middle easily, effectively clothes lining you. As the action causes you to bend forward, he sweeps you off your feet into a bridal carry.

Asmo does not utter a single word, and easily overwhelms your efforts to wriggle free as he lazily wanders back to the tub. You feel your back dip slightly as he steps back into the water.

_‘OH MY GODS! He’s really going to do it.’._

When he leans his head forward to nuzzle your neck you break into a fit of giggles, which is quickly hushed by him dropping to his knees. You’re held just inches above the water now and you look at him pleadingly, but he just smirks back at you mischievously.

He lowers the arm around your back and you shriek as you feel yourself dip backwards towards the water.

Mercifully he doesn’t dunk you and you catch your breath when he pulls you back up to his chest. He still looks mischievous, and still hasn’t said a word.

He dips his head again, sealing your lips in a kiss that’s as intoxicating as it is fervent.

His lips are warm, and soft, and it’s difficult to think of anything else. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what he wants…

There is no break in the kiss, nor the embrace of his arms around you, when he smoothly transitions from his knees to sitting on the bottom of the tub.

You submerge into the water in what seems like less than a second. It swells up over your face and steals your breath for the briefest of moments, before he releases your legs and uses both arms to pull your shoulders back up out of the milky liquid.

He only tears his lips away from yours after he feels you heave in a breath.

Water is streaming out of your hair and down your face, the open sides of your shirt float around the two of you, you can feel the material of your trousers trying to float upwards around your legs, there are rose petals stuck to your neck… and all you can do is stare at him in shock.

The only saving grace is that the water is not cold.

A pure smile travels up to his eyes and Asmo starts to laugh, the melodious sound rings around the room as you slap his chest splashing water between you.

“Oh, come now love. You didn’t think you would escape after ruining my hair, did you?”, it’s only now that he raises his hand to push the wet strands out of his face.

You push your shirt down over your shoulders and wring it out above the water.

“Fair point.”, you acknowledge him as you slide your hand over the twisted garment to dislodge as much water as possible before placing it on the floor outside the tub.

The avatar of lust drifts his hands around to your back to unclasp your bra, but you tug yourself away from him. He raises an eyebrow at you but watches you quietly as you move to perch on your knees, lifting the top half of your torso free from the water.

He erupts into laughter again though, when you squeeze the cups of the balconette lingerie to dislodge the water it had absorbed. Water cascaded down from your bust as if a tap had been turned on and you smile at him with a shrug, “I learnt early on that its faster to get water out of them this way.”.

You hesitate for a moment before removing the item, feeling a little self-conscious. Then you mentally slap yourself, after the night you two spent together, revealing your breasts is hardly a thing you should be worrying yourself about.

Besides, you’re the one who had insisted he bathe with you too.

You unclasp it and throw it on top of your shirt.

When you stand to unfasten your trousers, Asmo traces his hands along your waist and places a kiss on your stomach as he slides them down your thighs and into the water. Then he moves away to allow you to step out of them.

He fishes them out of the water and wrings them out for you after motioning for you to sit. “So darling tell me, who is it that has you wound up like this this evening hmm?”.

While he is preoccupied, you lean back in the water to also slip off your knickers, making quick work of squeezing the liquid out of them.

You grin at him before adding them to the pile of wet clothes on the floor. “Well, **now** it’s you.”.

He sits back against the wall of the tub and gently tugs you onto his lap.

“You already had lust in your eyes before I even spoke to you. I’m not taking the blame for that one.”, he rests his chin on your shoulder as you lean back against his chest while he speaks.

You sigh, “It’s not fair that you know that.”.

Asmo nuzzles your neck with a chuckle, the sound sinks into your chest and is met there with a chorus of butterflies. “I’d be a pretty useless lust demon if I couldn’t even see that. It was practically glowing from you.”.

You turn your head to look at him, “Did you really mean it when you told me that none of your brothers will refuse my advances if I want them?”.

He nods without hesitation, “Absolutely darling.”.

He kisses your shoulder and peppers more feather light kisses up to your neck.

“And… You’re sure you won’t be hurt if I did?”, you lean your body to the side slightly to pull away from his wandering lips.

He follows effortlessly and speaks between kisses, “Why? Have you?”.

“Of course not!”, you protest and turn your whole body to be able to glare at him.

To your surprise he chuckles, “Only teasing.”.

He pulls you back to him and plants a soft but brief kiss on your lips before continuing, “I definitely think you should give them all a run for their money. Every. Single. Chance. That. You. Get.”, he kissed a trail down your neck in between each word.

You catch his face between your hands and push him away gently, “Would you stop that? Talking about the possibility of getting off with one of your brothers while you kiss me is weird.”.

The demon turns his head and playfully licks the palm of your hand, when you retract your hands and drop them back into the water, he pulls you back to lean against his chest.

He glides his hands down your sides and clasps his hands in front of your belly as he leans in to place more kisses on the back of your neck, he pauses to whisper against your ear, “Are you sure about that? You can’t see me at the moment, you can fantasise anyone you want touching you right now.”.

You clench your jaw against the warmth settling in your stomach from the silk tones of his voice gliding over you.

When he unclasps his hands to run along the crease of your groin you snatch it up out of the water by his wrist. “If I didn’t want it to be you right now, I wouldn’t be here.”.

He trails his tongue down your neck, “Well… validation is always nice I suppose.”.

He pulls his hand away from you though and squeezes you in an affectionate embrace, “But I should warn you, the tension is killing me… If you don’t give in to some of them soon, I’m going to start engineering situations for it to happen myself.”.

Asmo went on to nip at your shoulder as if what he had just said was one of the most natural things in the world.

“But what if they object to it? Having been with more than one of you?”, the question is out of your mouth in a flash, but he answers you just as quickly, “They won’t.”.

You blink at the wall at the opposite end of the room, having no idea what you should say in response to that.

You hear the water ripple as he dips his hands beneath the surface, “Now, darling. Where were we?”, the fifth born cooed into your ear as you felt his fingertips run up the outside of your thighs.

You shiver at the touch but make no effort to pull away, “You had decided that we need to fix me being wound up.”.

You felt him nod behind you, “Ahhh… yes.”.

He traced a hand from the outside of one thigh to the inside, then allowed his claw to gently run along the crease of your groin.

“But then you ruined my hair and refused to tell me who it was that got you this way in the first place. So perhaps I should just leave you this way.”, he pulled his hand away and you heard the water ripple again as he reached over the side of the tub to collect his champagne glass.

You huff at him, you can deal with the feelings that had already been heating your core, even if it means you won’t sleep tonight… but offering himself to you and then talking about denying you like that, gives you an edge of tension you don’t think you will be able to cope with.

Though, you can’t contest that you had enjoyed soaking his hair, and you know that him not being privy to some gossip about you and his brothers must be eating him up.

You see the stem and foot raise in the corner of your eye as he tilted it to drink some. Then the glass appears fully from over your shoulder and he offers some to you.

You aren’t sure why you accept the drink from him but taking it out of his hand happens subconsciously. You take a sip and lean back against him again; the demon kisses the back of your neck softly. 

The man behind you waits patiently for you to take another sip, before sliding his hand back down your side and immediately around to your front where he unapologetically glides his fingers down between your folds.

The effort it takes you to swallow the drink in your mouth rather than choke on it is more than you’d care to admit, and in the process your hand holding the glass lurches to the side.

Asmo doesn’t even consider stopping his exploration of you, but still easily steadies your hand with his free one.

He places his palm over the outside of yours and curls his fingers around the glass too, as he purrs into your ear, “Careful love. Lucifer will lose his mind if I break the plumbing by getting glass stuck in it.”.

You don’t know which is worse, the mention of another brother again this evening, or the fact you found yourself nodding in response. You don’t even think plumbing can be broken that way.

_‘Can it?’._

Your thoughts are dragged abruptly out of your musings around pipework though as his fingers grind a circle over your clit with vigour.

You hiss in response and roll your hips at the sudden bolt of sensitivity that hits you. You’re irritated at yourself for having been distracted so easily, allowing the change in pace to blind side you.

The soft vibrations of his chuckling reverberate down your neck as he takes the glass from your hand.

When he has discarded it, his hand snakes back around your ribs, pressing his fingers along the lines of the bones before targeting your breasts. He cups one in his hand generously spreading his fingers around the soft flesh and kneading into it.

The fair-haired demon easily tracks the movements of your hips, keeping his fingertips applying firm pressure to your clit in a steady rhythm. His movements make you feel as if he knows where your body is going to move before you do, it’s no surprise that his attentions start to draw moans from your chest.

You lean your head back against his shoulder and let your eyes fall closed when a particularly long and lusty moan sucks all of the air from your lungs; in response to your pelvic muscles contracting in a way that paralyzes your diaphragm for a few agonisingly long seconds.

When you’re finally able to breathe in again you lift an arm behind you to lay it across his shoulder, allowing you to curl your palm around the back of his neck and anchor yourself as you writhe in his lap.

Your back is arched, and your hips rolled back into his as lewder sounds escape from somewhere deep in your throat.

The coil of pleasure he has created in you is lusciously coating the edges of your mind, you feel lost in his arms and when his fingers stop moving you have a moment of panic that he might have meant his teasing words.

_‘Is he really going to deny me now?’._

Asmo waits for the tension to leave your torso enough so that your lower back rests against him, when your hips relax and roll forward, he wastes no time in sliding two fingers inside you.

The friction of them sliding along your walls has you feeling lightheaded from a breath so deep it feels like its invading your sinuses.

His tongue traces a line along your shoulder, up your neck, and to your ear as he drags his fingers back out so slowly that its mesmerising. He pushes them back inside you, curling his fingers in search of that precious sensitive spot within.

“Hmm you are so fun to play with.”, his voice luxuriates in your senses and causes a small shiver of your shoulders.

His goal quickly located, he presses his fingers against your g-spot relentlessly until the heat pooling in your stomach combined with the flickering responses of your muscles, drags what feels like a never ending string of gasps, moans and pleading words from your lips. 

He nips the bottom of your ear and moves to suck at the sensitive skin in the hollow below it.

His lips are still pressed against your skin when he speaks again, “Darling the sounds you make are so delectable.”.

Your so close to your release that his words only serve to increase the heady lust gripping your core. Your breath hitches when his palm presses against your folds, it’s not the pinpointed accuracy against your clit that his fingers had been, but the pressure is still enough for it to send convulsions through your muscles, the first warning signs that you’re about to crash down around him at any moment.

The demon responds by spreading his fingers inside you, gently but dedicatedly stretching out both the pleasure and the tightness of your walls.

When you grip his thigh tightly for support, he groans into your ear, “You’re so delightful, I have no idea how I resisted your temptation for so long.”.

You protest with a needy whimper when he slips his fingers out of your warmth, dragging his hand along your thigh, before gripping both of your hips.

You feel a rush of cool air hit the skin around your lower ribs and waist as you break through the surface of the water when he lifts you up.

The cool makes you shiver, but the sensation is quickly replaced by an all consuming need to mewl his name, when he smoothly drags you back down into the water impaling you with his own arousal. He meats your cries with a guttural moan and wastes no time in setting a punishing pace.

His cock is grinding firmly across your front walls and hitting the over sensitive and engorged spot within you on every snap of his hips as he drives up into you.

The avatar of lust lives up to his title effortlessly, you had barely registered the loss of sensation from his fingers before he filled you so completely.

The orgasm that you’d lost when he had stopped, comes roaring back with vengeance and you feel yourself clench around him almost immediately. The feeling of flesh grasping onto flesh when your muscles contract, rips a throaty moan from both of you.

The sound of his pleasure calls to a lost and foggy part of your brain, you can’t believe you have buried that joy in taking sexual pleasure so far down in your mind. There’s no doubt that it is back in the forefront of your mind now though, as the sound of the demon hissing below you calls to it.

The water splashes around you both, caressing your skin with every movement that the demon makes.

Asmo presses his fingers into your hips, his claws no doubt are going to leave crescent indents in your skin later.

When you gasp and feel your walls stuttering around his cock he growls, and there is a flurry of splashing as his wings unfurl behind you, pushing a wave of rose petals around the tub as the water breaks similarly to being hit by the bough of a ship.

He rests the velveteen limbs across your shoulders, allowing the small claws at their apex to press into your skin, imitating the grip of his hands at your hips.

You know your going to come at any moment despite your best efforts to hold onto the feeling of him engulfing you completely.

You try desperately to focus on one sensation at a time, hoping to draw out both of your pleasure, but your efforts are futile when he shuffles beneath you.

He lowers himself further into the water and bends his knees up to give his feet traction on the bottom of the tub. The new position has his cock entering you deeper than you thought it could, and the increased intrusion between your walls sends you over the edge without warning.

You throw your head back and curse as your lungs falter, and your dizzying pulse has blood thundering around your veins, desperately trying to feed the muscles that are now convulsing violently against him.

The coil in your core snaps so suddenly that you’re powerless to do anything, except remind yourself to breathe between calling his name lewdly as the waves of pleasure crash over you again and again.

Asmo is swearing against your neck, he is also clearly caught out by the speed of your release.

He dutifully keeps up the pace to push you through the orgasm, but it is still raging when his own will fails. The feeling of his release within you causes your walls to grip him harder and both of you groan in response.

He laboriously delivers the last few strokes of his cock inside you, hissing at the milking of each new rope of cum.

Your breathing is ragged when he finally stills himself, he slouches against the wall of the tub and you follow suit, sinking into him languidly. You can’t even think of moving right now, the sound of his harsh breathing while he regains composure is oddly satisfying.

A minute or two passes, with Asmo cradling you against him, while the hormones that had been clouding your brain settle into your over worked muscles.

You feel thoroughly worn out in all the best ways.

You could lay here with him in the still warm waters for eternity, as long as you could be cradled like this, absorbing the warmth of his body around you like a loving blanket.

Your muscles are still numb when he moves from beneath you, resting on his knees he holds you up with next to no effort as he reaches for a bottle of soap. You feel sleepy in the warmth as he lathers it over your shoulders and down over your chest.

You smile affectionately at the demon now taking care of his precious human.

Once he has also lathered over your back, he encourages you to dip into the water while he washes it away. When you sit back up, he circles his arms around you tenderly and rests his chin on your shoulder as he pulls you against him.

“Teasing you is fun… but the way your lust drips from you so unrestrained is addictive. It’s primal. I think I’m always going to need to feel that.”.

Asmo’s voice lilts softly into your tired mind and you can’t help but squeeze your arms around him with a hum, “I had lost that part of me. Thank you for finding it again.”.

The vulnerability in his confession makes you want to protect him too. You decide without hesitation that you will move the earth to find a way to sooth those insecurities.

He sighs contentedly against you and enjoys your embrace before motioning for you to let him shampoo your hair.

You obediently comply with his directions as he finishes getting you both cleaned up.

He sits you at the vanity unit in his bedroom with towels draped over you to religiously take care of his skin care routine, carefully applying each step to you too.

By the time the two of you curl up in his bed, naked of course as per his rules, you don’t think you’ve ever felt so pampered in your life and your skin feels so soft against the sheets that it draws you into sleep quickly.

Slumber greets you softly with the demon beside you wrapped over you, your fingers laced into his holding his arm against your chest adoringly.


	28. Absence is felt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC is woken in the small hours of the morning by messages on her D.D.D.  
> Lucifer and Satan's absence from the day before is continued, but MC struggles to get an explanation that she believes to be true from the brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triggers: MC has another nightmare here, other than that I think this chapter is a pretty safe one.
> 
> Spoilers: This uses message dialog directly from the game, so there will be game spoilers from the following daily messages - Lucifer: In the mood, House of Lamentation: Hung over.  
> I was crazy excited when I realised these would fit into the current point in my plot =^.^=

You have slept well, you can feel your mind is sharp when you wake, yet you’re still greeted with darkness and a deep growling.

You recognise the sound immediately; you know you’re dreaming.

No matter how you try you can’t shake away the sound that follows you. You shake your head and step backwards willing yourself to wake.

Despite your efforts, hands circle your throat with their menacing claws dragging across the base of your skull. You can hear a beeping as your eyes drift closed and you sink into darkness.

You wake with a start, sitting up and throwing the sheets off you, heaving a breath.

You blink a few times at the unfamiliar room surrounding you.

Asmo shifts beside you, still asleep, and you’re reminded that you hadn’t gone back to your own room last night. With a sigh of relief, you stretch your arms above your head and yawn, the beeping from your dream returns.

Your D.D.D. screen is lighting up with notifications, it illuminates your side of the room in soft blue light. You swipe it up from the floor next to the bed and frown at the time on the home screen that greets you: 02:00.

The frown quickly melts into confusion when you see that it’s Lucifer’s name on the notifications.

* * *

**Lucifer:** MC.

 **Lucifer:** MC!

 **Lucifer:** o (^‿^✿)

 **MC:** Eh, what’s going on?

 **Lucifer:** Hmm? Nothing.

 **Lucifer:** I suddenly felt the urge to chat with you. That’s all.

* * *

You feel uncomfortable, staring at your screen as his response pings into your inbox.

This is weird, and at two am too…

It’s not unusual for him to be up at this time, you’d bumped into him in the corridors at night before, but messaging you like this is creepy.

Lucifer never just expresses an urge to chat.

_‘What the hell is he thinking?’._

A message out of the blue is the last thing you would expect after the confrontation over dinner on Saturday.

He isn’t even in the house, is the castle making him loopy?

You doubt Diavolo would let him get lost in the labyrinth or anything though. Come to think of it, you doubt Lucifer is even capable of being trapped by that magic maze at all, actually.

Your eyes widen at the screen as it occurs to you that this is so out of character for him, he must have been drinking.

* * *

**MC:** Are you drunk?

 **Lucifer:** How could you tell? You know me really well, MC!

 **Lucifer:** Hehehe

 **Lucifer:** I was drinking Demonus with Diavolo earlier.

* * *

_‘Hehehe? Oh my gods he’s fucking shit faced!’._

You have **never** seen him send a laughing message before.

You wait patiently as there is a delay in the messages that follow, you can’t help but to feel a small pang of affection that you are the person he chooses to talk to right now.

Your father always used to tell you that you should pay close attention to the rambling of a drunk man, because a drunken mind often speaks the hidden truth of a sober heart.

Even though you hold that saying as one of your core beliefs about people, it could not have possibly prepared you for the string of messages that eventually arrived in your inbox next.

* * *

**Lucifer:** And you know, he kept saying all these nice things about you…

 **Lucifer:** Let me tell you, I’m also really happy you’re down here with us.

 **Lucifer** : …

 **Lucifer:** Who even came up with the idea that whoever empties their bottle first, wins...?

 **Lucifer:** Oh, right. I did…

 **Lucifer:** My bad. Ah, my head is spinning.

 **Lucifer:** Good night MC.

 **Lucifer:** Love you.

* * *

You gawp at the device in your hand in disbelief.

You don’t even know where to begin in decoding that, although you feel like it doesn’t really count as a ‘chat’ when he only allows you to say two things and then goes to bed.

There is a small sting of guilt that he has been downing bottles. It feels like he has ultimately ended up hiding away with his friend in order to drink away his problems, which at the moment… are you.

He must have drunk a hell of a lot, to drop his façade and openly admit to being drunk enough to get a bad head.

On top of that, to tell you directly that he is glad you’re here and end it by saying ‘love you’… those are things you are one hundred percent sure he would not have said to your face, well definitely not this week anyway.

You feel an urge to check on the first born, like your mind is demanding you return the care to him, that he usually gives to everyone else. But since he is not in the house, you resign yourself to the fact that there is nothing you can do right now, and vow instead to check in with him tomorrow.

Reluctantly, you set the device back onto the floor and settle back down into the bed.

When Asmo rolls towards you to sleepily cuddle into your side, you return the affection by cradling his head to your shoulder and placing a kiss on his forehead.

It occurs to you that, had Lucifer not been at the castle, you probably wouldn’t be able to enjoy this moment as he would have escorted you back to your own room at curfew.

When you wake again the room is bright and Asmo is sitting at his vanity unit carefully applying moisturiser to his face. It looks like he has been awake for a while, his hair is already immaculately styled although he is wearing a night gown still.

“Oohh good morning!”, he practically sang at you when you sleepily sat up in the bed.

You squint at him and reply much more quietly, “Morning.”.

You have no idea how he can be this chirpy so early in the morning. You have never been a morning person, and happy morning people have always confused you.

He smiled brightly before turning back to the mirror to apply some make up.

He looks at you in the reflection as you shimmy to the edge of the bed, holding the sheets against your chest. You would argue with anyone who cared to spend the time, that the worst bit about getting up in the mornings is losing the warmth of the sheets.

A thought washes across the demon’s face and Asmo jumps to turn and face you again, startling you. “I let the little D’s take your clothes for washing since they were still soaking.”, he winks at you then. “It must have slipped my mind that you wouldn’t have anything to wear this morning.”.

You stare at him with a flat expression and he chuckles.

“Don’t worry though love, I will of course gift you a night gown to return to your room in. I can’t have anyone taking advantage and making you late for class.”, he stands and walks over to you, tugging your hands to get you up out of bed. “First though, let me sort your hair and make up for the day.”.

You are grateful that he drapes the loose top sheet over you like a toga before motioning for you to sit at the vanity.

He hands you a jar of the same cream that he had gifted you a few days ago, his eyes fall to the dark bruise covering your collar still. You are happy though that the deep shade has already started breaking and areas of lighter red now littered it.

The hickey is now a light shade of yellow that you know will easily cover with makeup, you give a silent thanks for the wonders of this cream, that you will not be needing to explain a love bite to the angels.

“I, ahh… I’ll let you do that. I don’t want to hurt you.”, he averted his eyes and distracted himself by finishing applying his own makeup while you opened the lid.

You apply the cream as you’d done several times over the weekend, this time there is much less pain and you easily rubbed it into your skin.

As promised, after finishing his own preparation for the day, Asmo helped you style your hair and applied your makeup after insisting you let him cleanse and moisturise your skin too.

He also rummaged through a seemingly never-ending closet to find you a black silk night gown, the material choice didn’t come as a surprise to you, but the colour did. It made you smile that he had remembered you telling him that you would always choose black if it was an option.

Of course, the demon could not resist stealing a kiss, and swatting at your back side as you left his room to return to your own and dress for the day.

You are the last to arrive at breakfast, at least you are the last that **will** arrive today.

Lucifer and Satan are both missing. You are quite amused that Lucifer is probably nursing a sore head, but Satan’s continued absence worries you.

The chatter at the table is the same as normal in the mornings when you take your seat.

Beel is happily eating quietly, Belphie is laying with his pillow on the table where his plate should be, asleep.

Asmo has miraculously found enough fruit to create a breakfast for himself amongst all the heavy foods on the table, it’s not difficult to see that the brothers had rushed to put together something this morning.

Levi is lost in his D.D.D. and Mammon is in his usual flustered morning rush.

They all greet you in their own way, but no one seems concerned by the absence of two of the house’s residents. 

You pour a cup of coffee and place a few slices of toast on your plate before you decide that you can’t bear to not ask the question floating in your mind, “Where is Satan?”.

Mammon immediately flaps, “Why are you so concerned about that stuffy book worm all of a sudden?”.

Asmo glares at him and he flounders even more, “He burnt the midnight oil as ya stupid humans would say. Now he’s been awake too long and ain’t here.”.

_‘Liar.’._

He jumps in his place at the table as Belphie swiftly kicks him underneath it, “Oi! What was that for?!”.

Belphie raises his head with an unamused expression on his face, “You’re loud and obnoxious. Shut up.”.

The second born bristles in response but is unable to answer before Beel adds his thoughts, “Satan sometimes loses track of time when he finds something new to study. It makes him late in the mornings when he does.”.

You frown, you don’t remember him missing breakfast on a school day in your whole time here.

Although… he had told you himself on the call with you last week that he’d lost track of time and didn’t sleep well, and they are all much older than you so chances are they have seen this happen before.

“Beel is right. I’m sure we will see him in class later.”, Asmo’s soft voice drifts to you from across the table and his expression is soft.

Mammon nods in agreement, wisely choosing not to add any more of his thoughts to the conversation.

You know that is the logical and most likely situation… but you don’t feel right about it. You decide to make a point of cornering him in class later today and checking if he is okay.

After breakfast Beel insists that he walk along with you and Mammon on your morning journey into R.A.D. Of course, the greedy second born protests, claiming that he is perfectly capable of escorting you safely. But the gentle ginger demon doesn’t even argue back, he simply walks alongside you anyway, quietly ignoring his brother’s complaints.

When you arrive, Mammon ducks into the building before you, and you’re left standing outside with Beel while several students wizz back and forth the courtyard of the academy.

He looks down at you with a coy smile, “You look tasty today.”

You can’t say you have ever thought of ‘tasty’ as a compliment before, but coming from him it’s weirdly endearing. A comparison to food seems like the perfect ideal to you when you try to think from his point of view.

“Thank you for walking with us today. It was nice to not be subjected to Mammon’s random scheming alone for once.”, you smile up at him and tiptoe to hug him closely.

There is no hesitation from the giant of a man in front of you as he wraps you in his arms in response.

He speaks softly when he lets you go again, “I still don’t like that you have to leave the house. But I figure I can accompany you more when you have to at least.”.

You sigh and catch hold of his arm to walk into the building together, “I told you… I don’t want you to worry. Between the seven of you I’m sure I’ll be the safest person in the Devildom from now on.”.

He squeezes your hand around his arm and smiles, “I like to see that you are safe with my own eyes. That’s all.”.

Your first class was spent with Beel, and too your surprise Belphie had shown up for the morning too. Both of them seemed to stay closer to you than usual, but neither behaved in any way that could make you feel crowded.

Your second class is usually spent with Asmo and Satan, your stomach churned when the fourth born did not show.

Asmo squeezed you tightly on his way to his desk, “Stop worrying, I can feel it. Satan is probably still sleeping off a long night. We will see him later.”.

You shook your head back at him, “Have you ever known him to miss class before?”.

You couldn’t stop a frown wrinkling your face as your throat felt tight.

The golden eyes that you normally loved to get lost in betrayed a flash of worry before he hid it and answered smoothly, “It’s happened a small handful of times. Please don’t let it worry you.”.

He leaned forward to kiss your forehead gently, which triggered some curious murmurs from other students around you. It caused you to blush so intensely that you spent the rest of the class too embarrassed to look away from your textbooks.

You are outside with Beel during a break between classes when your D.D.D.s begin buzzing. You plucked yours out of your pocket to read the notifications.

Beel chose to ignore the buzzing of his own device, opting to read the group chat over your shoulder instead, while he finished his midmorning snacks.

* * *

**House of Lamentation (New)(8)**

**Lucifer:** I’ve got a terrible headache so I don’t want any of you causing any trouble for me.

 **Lucifer:** Understood, Mammon?

 **Mammon:** Why ya gotta single me out, huh?!

 **Asmodeus:** What’s going on here? Lucifer isn’t feeling well?!

 **Asmodeus:** I can always nurse you back to health if you let me <3

 **Lucifer:** Asmo, would you like me to ban you from talking in the chat again?

 **Asmodeus:** ( ‘ ⚆ _ ⚆ )7 

**Belphegor:** You should knock it off, Asmo. Lucifer can be worse than Satan when he’s in a bad mood…

 **MC:** Are you hung over?

 **Lucifer:** MC.

 **Lucifer:** Did it not cross your mind that you’re not exactly in the position to ask that without putting yourself in danger?

 **Asmodeus:** Wait, whaaaat?! Lucifer, hung over?!

 **Lucifer:** If anyone else thinks it’s a good idea to add to this conversation, you better be prepared to be hung from the chandelier tomorrow.

 **Leviathan:** Hey, who’s ready to watch the newest episode of ‘Devil de Detective’? I’m sure you’re dying to find out who the culprit is!

 **Leviathan:** ♡〜٩(^▿^)۶〜♡

 **Mammon:** Levi…

 **Asmodeus:** Levi…

 **MC:** Levi…

 **Belphegor:** We’ll miss you…

 **Leviathan:** What?

 **Leviathan:** Hey, can someone PLEASE tell me what’s going on here?

 **Leviathan:** Oh…

 **Leviathan:** NOOOOOOOO!

* * *

Beel lay back on the grass beside you, looking up at the sky with a faint chuckle, “You know, I was worried about you for a moment, but I guess Levi will distract Lucifer for you now.”.

The chat had been an amusing distraction for you, but you couldn’t quite find the same enthusiasm for Levi having put his foot in it. The only thing in your mind is the fact that Satan hadn’t spoken during the conversation.

Your violet eyed companion turned his gaze back to you and nudged your arm, “How did you know he is hung over?”.

“I ah. I spoke with him last night, he mentioned that he had had a drink.”, you answered slowly.

You definitely didn’t want to spread gossip around the brothers about your late-night messages. Not that you believed Beel would openly repeat anything you say to him, but you still didn’t want to risk that Belphie might squeeze the information from him though.

The demon looked back up to the sky, “Oh. I guess his head must really hurt bad.”.

You turned to look down at him, “Beel, what’s wrong with Satan?”.

He shrugged, “I don’t think anything is wrong. But I haven’t seen him today so I wouldn’t know if there is.”.

You sigh.

The answer doesn’t help your nerves at all, but you can’t ever accuse Beel of being dishonest at least.

He notices the sad expression on your face and frowns, “Are you okay?”.

“I’m just worried that’s all. I haven’t seen him since Saturday night, and he wasn’t in class this morning. Mammon acts really weird whenever I ask about it too.”, you look at him pleadingly hoping that he will explain, but he shakes his head.

“Mammon is always weird around you. Satan though… I’m sorry I don’t know if something is going on, I haven’t spoken to him myself either.”, he sits up and draws you into his arms for a heart-warming cwtch against his chest.

The shrill bell inside the building rings out to signify the change of classes and Beel helps you to your feet. He cheerily walks you to your next class and promises that he will catch up with you at lunch time.

You sneaked out your D.D.D. to message Satan from underneath your desk during class.

You chose to directly ask how he is doing today, and slip the device back in your bag with a wish that you will hear from him.

Classes went by, lunch came and went, and there was still no sign of the avatar of wrath.

By the time the end of the school day arrived Satan still hadn’t responded to your message either.

Now, you are determined to get the truth from the brothers, you’re convinced that Mammon knows something he isn’t sharing, and maybe Asmo knows it too.

When Beel is the only brother who waits at the gates to walk home with you today, you’re a little disappointed that you can’t press for the information straight away.

None the less you enjoy his sweet company during the walk back, and make your mind up during the journey that Mammon can suck on his protests… He had tried so hard to stop you visiting his brother yesterday, whether he likes it or not, today you are going straight to Satan when you get in.


	29. Rage Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC goes in search of Satan but only finds his empty room. Mammon and Asmo end up revealing why, and she is stuck trying to use their pact across long distance to call to Satan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MC has mood swings, and rage is the main one, there is a lot of yelling.

There is still no answer to the message that you had sent to Satan on your D.D.D., it’s not even marked as being read yet.

When you arrive back at the house of Lamentation, you only stop at your own room long enough to drop off your bag and jacket, before rushing back out of the door.

You strode along the corridors with a stubborn determination, you are so concerned now that you feel like you would be a force to be reckoned with if anyone tried to stop you on your way.

Particularly if it’s Mammon that tries to intervene, you think you’ll probably unload both barrels of the stress from the whole year so far. You’re positive that the blue-eyed idiot is hiding something from you, and you’re fed up with people trying to put you in a bubble.

When you get to Satan’s room you notice immediately that his door is ajar. There is a thin strip of light spilling out into the corridor, and it is deathly silent.

You call to the demon that resides there but receive no answer.

As the seconds tick by, your skin prickles, you clench your jaw and swallow against the apprehension that crawls over you now.

You call again but still no response.

You press your palm against the door and call once more, “Satan… I’m going to come in.”.

You push against the door and it easily swings open about a third of the way, before it stops with a dull thud against something inside. The dull sound, and resistance against your palm causes you to shiver.

You squeeze sideways through the door. You’re blindsided by what greets you and sway light-headedly as the sight steals your breath in an icy grip of fear.

Satan’s room is always a mess of organised chaos, but right now it looks as if a tornado has hit.

You can clearly see now that the door had come to a stop because of a bookshelf that has been tipped over onto the floor. The light that had been pooling out into the corridor, is weakly emanating from a lamp that is also tipped over and has rolled across the floor in front of his reading chair.

There are no longer stacks of books piled upright but heaps of them strewn around your feet instead.

The books that are normally piled across the table next to the seat have been thrown across the floor too, and lie haphazardly, open on their spines to varying degrees. There are also flame singed loose pages littering the carpet between the tipped piles of books.

Even his bed has not escaped, the mattress is lurching precariously sideways off the edge of the frame and his sheets are screwed up into a ball against the window, you can’t even find his pillows.

You take a few steps into the room, taking great care not to touch any books or pages, you don’t want to be the victim in a potential repeat of the body swap incident. That isn’t an easy task though, finding empty spaces large enough to safely place your feet is worse than trying to avoid the cracks in a brick paved driveway as a child.

Now that you are further into the room, you can see that the breakfast plate from yesterday sits empty on one of the steps of the spiral staircase, but the dinner is untouched sitting accusingly next to it.

There is no sign of the room’s occupant, the silence accompanied by the still and heavy air in the room is making you feel sick. Your hands move automatically without much thought to unlock your D.D.D. and send another message to Satan.

You hear a faint beeping and spin towards the direction that it came from.

You dial his number to call him.

The faint beep you heard earlier is now replaced by a ringing. Following the sound you locate the demon’s D.D.D. underneath some stray pages next to the bed.

Disappointment floods over you, this explains his lack of response, but why would he leave the house without it, and the prospect of what the hell happened in here makes you nervous.

_‘Did he fight with Lucifer again?’._

You carefully set his device down on the table next to his reading chair and back out of the room, clicking the door closed behind you.

You feel tension leave your shoulders as soon as you are out of the room’s oppressive atmosphere, but the sight has been deeply unsettling. You can feel a quiet anger growing, thinking about how the other brothers must surely know something about the scene you just took in.

You steel yourself and send another message from your D.D.D. as you stalk back down the corridor.

Now is time for answers, the brothers must know what’s going on and they will tell you or you’ll go elsewhere to get the help you want. You make the threat like a pledge to yourself, though you acknowledge you aren’t sure what you expect the ‘elsewhere’ to actually mean.

* * *

**MC:** Mammon’s room. Now.

 **Asmodeus:** Eh? Why would I go in that idiot’s space?

 **MC:** Mammon’s.

 **MC:** Room.

 **MC:** Now!

 **Asmodeus:** (‘◇’)?

 **Asmodeus:** Are you okay?

 **MC:** Not up for debate. You have 5 minutes.

 **Asmodeus:** ヾ( •́д•̀ ;)ﾉ

* * *

Every step you take increases your annoyance. The fact that the messages you sent feel very Lucifer-esque to you, only serves to irritate you more.

When you arrive at your destination you hammer on Mammon’s door.

Your irritation giving way to hot anger as you call to him, “Oi! Fucking lying demon, open this god damned door!”.

After the words are out of your mouth you tut at yourself for how much you sound like that lovable idiot right now.

You shake your head and continue hammering on the door.

“I’m not joking! Let me in, or I’m using the pact on you!”, You yell at the woodwork in frustration.

Eventually you hear movement inside the room.

“Alright! I’m coming, what’s got into ya?”, Mammon’s voice drifts through the closed door at you.

You can hear him turning the door handle, but you carry on beating at it anyway, it makes the heat of anger in your stomach feel better.

When the door swings open you grab his collar and drag him back into his room, you still have hold of him when you stop and look at his face. He is flushed and looks confused to the point of being a little scared. You can’t say that you blame him, you’re wondering what possessed you to do that yourself.

He shrugs your hands away and stares at you in annoyance, “What are ya playing at? I’m the great Mammon, you should respect me.”.

You snort at him, the anger you feel is still building, “Yeah? Does that title include lying to your human?”.

He frowns, “I ain’t lying to ya. What are ya talking about?”.

“Where is Satan?!”, you snap the words at him almost like a bark and he looks at the floor. “And, don’t you dare tell me he is studying.”.

He puts his hands on his hips and takes a step back defensively, “Look, how should I know? Huh? I ain’t his keeper.”.

You scowl and start to shout at him, “That’s not what you said yesterday. Wasn’t it your responsibility to make sure things are ok while Lucifer is gone? Are you failing your duty?”.

He winces.

Normally you’d feel bad for saying something that touches a nerve like that, but right now it feels good to push your point.

“Darling, what’s all the shouting about?”, Asmo’s voice lilted from the still open doorway as he stepped inside.

You turn to him and gift him with one of your angry glares too, he frowns at you.

“I know that something is wrong with Satan. You two are hiding something.”, your words are terse.

The avatar of lust floats towards you and places a hand on your shoulder to placate you, but you shrug it away with a huff.

You spin back to face Mammon and you extend your own hand to poke your finger at him. You stop your movement so close to his face that he recoils, and flashes concerned looks at his brother.

“You lied to me.”, you hiss the accusation at him and continued to scowl.

The second born shook his head, “Why would I lie to ya?”.

You laugh and throw your hands up in frustration, you feel like you laugh only to keep you from starting to yell again.

You purse your lips before throwing your answer at him, “I don’t know. Probably some bollocks notion about protecting me.”.

Asmo walks around you into your vision and looks carefully into your eyes, “Love, is it so bad for people to want to protect you?”.

You stare into his gaze, he can try to read you all he likes, you don’t care, and you’re not backing down.

In fact, you hope he see’s rage, maybe that way they will take your questions seriously, “It is when it includes lying to me. What is wrong with Satan?”.

“Nothing is **wrong** with him.”, Asmo’s voice is soft and curious as he answers you with his eyes warm. Those damn disarming adorable pools of rose gold that you normally love to get lost in.

You feel like the gentleness is mocking your anger and you tut, “Then pray do tell… where is he?”.

“Probably in his room.” Mammon answers and you turn your glare back at him.

“Is he? Did he eat the dinner you took to him yesterday?”, you tilt your head and peer at him like a hungry vulture waiting for him to answer.

The second born hesitated, he glanced between you and Asmo before he spoke, “I don’t know.”. He shrugged, “Probably?”.

You shake your head and practically growl your response at him, “Well, **I** know. And the answer you’re looking for is ‘no’.”.

Asmo straightened and waved his hands to draw your attention back to him, “You have been in his room, haven’t you?”.

He spoke slowly as if trying to coax you to cool your temper with his words.

“No shit.”, you huff back.

He pouts at you and lifts his hand to tap your nose, but you bat it away with an annoyed grunt.

“Seems like you picked up some of his energy. Was he not there?”, those golden eyes are still soft and it aggravates you.

You narrow your eyes at him and his answering chuckle stokes the anger sitting heavy in your stomach, “Do you think I’d be here if he was?... What energy?”.

Mammon shuffles awkwardly, but his words are clear and confident, “When I took him food yesterday, he was still there.”.

Blue eyes settled on you with a worried gaze and you can feel your pacts fizzling with honesty. He turned away to take out his D.D.D. and swiped through his contacts to make a call.

“There’s no point in doing that. I found his D.D.D. in his room.”, you waved your hands and swallowed back the urge to call him an idiot, you don’t even know where the thought to do so came from.

When the second born turns back to you he is frowning again, his lips are pursed too.

He shoves the device back into his pocket and sighs before picking up one of your hands in his. You stared down at his hand and resisted the impulse to snap your hand away.

“You’re angry right now.”, he stated flatly.

Now you do pull your hand away and wave it around expressively, “Of course I’m fucking angry. You’ve been hiding something from me for two days!”.

He just watched you as you started to pace about the room. Nobody talks for a long while, which causes you to cross your arms indignantly.

“Please someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on?”, you hiss at them both as you flop down onto the white sofa, bobbing your knees up and down agitatedly.

Mammon moves to stand in front of you with is arms crossed too, “It’s not your anger.”.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”, you snap back leaning forward with your elbows on your knees to stare at him.

Asmo moves too, he chooses to sit next to you.

He rests his hand on your thigh behind your elbow and tuts at his brother, “What this idiot is trying to say is… it’s not anger you’re feeling right now, it’s wrath. Specifically, it’s Satan’s wrath.”.

He traces his hand along your thigh before removing it and you turn your stare to him instead.

Mammon huffs and leans against his pool table, “That’s why ya weren’t supposed to go there. Satan knew his room was dripping with it. Now it’s on ya.”.

“Would have been nice if somebody bothered to explain that, instead of pretending everything is fine.”, You bristled.

He seems particularly good at stoking the fire in you at the moment, and you try your best to not look at his stupid face.

“Satan didn’t want you to be worried about him. So he asked us not to tell you.”, Asmo’s voice is smooth next to you. “He is having a rage break. It’s not unusual for him… though it hasn’t happened in a long time.”.

Mammon adds his own thoughts too, “He normally just breaks a bunch of shit, gets into some fist fights and is okay after a day or two. He ain’t normally stupid enough to go off without his D.D.D. though.”.

You glare at him and point your finger towards his face again, even though you’re much further apart this time he still recoils again. “Fights?!”

Asmo also glares at him, “Will you shut up? You’re making her worse.”.

The second born waves his hands dejectedly and slumps further back against the table. You grit your teeth against the flurry of insults that want to fly from your mouth at him.

You close your eyes to will yourself to speak calmly, you’re impressed that you sound more reasonable at least when you open them again, “What do we do?”.

“Normally, nothing. He does his thing and we try not to intervene… But, If you have his wrath now it’s only going to get worse until he calms down too. So I suppose we have no choice but to try and call him here. You’ll have to use your pact.”, Asmo explained carefully watching you to be sure you understood what he was saying.

You blink at him a few times. “I feel sick.”.

He nods, “That’s not surprising, it’s a lot of power when you’re not used to it. You need to focus on that to call him here. Like you did with me in the labyrinth remember?”.

You huff and get up from the sofa to pace again, the fire is itching to get out and you imagine this agitation might be similar to a drug come down, except in reverse.

“I could only do that because Solomon lent me the magic. Not to mention… you were in the same building and we have no idea where he is.”, you state glumly.

You kick at the corner of the sofa in exasperation as you pass by it.

“Do you remember the invocation?”, the lilting quality is starting to return to his voice now that he feels you are calming. You’re not though, you feel like a lava pit is bubbling away at you. The only thing that’s changed, is that you feel less guilty, now you know that it isn’t strictly **you** acting so irrationally.

You shake your head with an exaggerated shrug.

“Ya gotta try. Ya don’t need fancy words… just feel your pact, you can focus on him through it and pull him back.”, Mammon breaks his silence.

It surprises you that his advice seems both sincere and useful. So you nod and stand still to try and feel your pact. You look for the familiar fizzling that you’ve sensed from many of them before, especially in the last week.

You find the unique tone of fizzling that is Satan quickly. But it feels different, you can feel a pressure that is innately **him** , he is a burning ball of rage that you don’t even want to touch because it is so hot.

You resist reaching for it and try to call to him in your mind instead, as you’d done with Asmo at The Fall. The more you try to impress on that feeling that you want to call him back, the more you could feel your own anger building though.

Your own senses are muddied by the raw emotion, a deep roaring anger that is deafening, it makes your head spin and you sway a little.

Both demons in the room with you burst into action to close the distance between you, but you hold a hand up to insist that you are fine.

You rest your hands on the back of the sofa, and look again into the magic fizzling in the room.

You can see a fire. It’s green like some weird, supernatural, gas flame. You can’t pull on it though no matter how hard you try it just wont budge. You desperately will in your mind that he can feel you calling but there is a maddened resistance against your efforts.

Eventually you erupt in a string of curses.

“Oh this is bloody pointless. I can’t call him, it’s just all hot and pushing back against me.”, you straighten in a flurry of movement that makes you dizzy again. This time you concede that you should probably sit.

“I can’t call him, I can’t even tell what is him and what is me, it’s like we are both the same colour or something.”, you wail in annoyance and throw your head over the back of the sofa to furiously stare at the ceiling.

“Can ya see where he is?”, Mammon asked curiously.

You huff, “No. I can’t even really see him. It’s just all burning rage and nothing else.”.

Asmo grips both of your hands and pulls you to your feet, “He is resisting you. Come on, we are getting you some help. Solomon will show you what to do.”.

When you are stood upright again you are greeted by a genuine smile, he even leans forward to kiss the side of your neck softly. That’s the last thing you want right now, and you pull away with a scowl.

“Time and place you know.”, You huff at him and cross your arms while shooting him a death glare. You swear you would make a wickedly powerful demon if they could capitalise on this glare somehow.

He chuckles, “Come on it’s not going to fix itself... let’s get going.”.

The bubbly tone is rolling off his lips now as if this evening is as normal as ever. He makes a point of running his hand along your waist as he escorts you out of the door.

Mammon stops to shut the door behind you and Asmo takes the opportunity to whisper in your ear, “You’re so hot when you’re angry. That glare would melt any man… I wonder if Satan will lend you his wrath in future to play with.”.

“Pervert.”, you slap the back of his head without even thinking, you would never normally do something like that, and it shocks you. You wonder with a small amount of trepidation, if you will end up doing more things without conscious control as this goes on.

He winks at you in response and curls his arm around you to walk out of the house with you. You pointedly ignore Mammon’s complaints about him being a pervert, your amused though at his choice of words.


	30. Hearing voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solomon agrees to help, but it's not quite what Asmo had originally thought. MC learns something about using her pacts, and something about Satan too along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: there is talk about dealing with rage as an emotion here, but this is the only thing I think might be considered a trigger in this chapter at the moment.

Despite an outburst of yelling obscenities when some random demons had bumped into you in the street, from which Mammon had practically dragged you away, the journey to Purgatory Hall was relatively uneventful.

Simeon had answered the door and regarded the three of you with mild interest, before announcing that he had no need to escort you since Asmo already knows where Solomon’s room is. Though not without comment that it was unusual to get so many visitors from the house of Lamentation. You knew immediately that he is likely to report the oddity to Lucifer, but you don’t care.

The angel’s calming energy felt at odds with you, and the contrast made you feel dizzy. So, you were grateful when Asmo tugged you down the hallway, with a cheery ‘thank you’ to the man that had greeted you.

You had sat quietly, allowing Asmo to explain the situation to Solomon, after he let you all in with a suspicious glance at the second born’s presence. You felt like the explanation had taken too long, and you folded your arms and grit your teeth to stop yourself interjecting irritably.

Now the sorcerer is looking at you from his desk chair, where he is lazily sprawled, with a contrived smile. “Well… seems you’ve gotten yourself in a rather interesting situation MC. Again.”

You fix an unamused expression in his direction, putting a considerable amount of effort into not berating him for wasting time pointing out the obvious. You already feel guilty for asking him to help you a second time in just a few short days, and you don’t want to add having acted like a bitch in the process on top of that feeling.

You run your tongue along the inside of your teeth and suck in your cheeks while you try to formulate something kind to say.

Solomon notices the action and bursts into laughter, “It’s getting worse isn’t it?”.

“Well done Sherlock.”, the words are out in an irate snap before you can stop them.

Your sarcasm apparently only amuses him more though, “I suppose you’re going to want to fix this before you start lashing out physically as well?”.

He tilts his head and rests his hand against his chin with the sly smile that you had seen all too many times before.

While the sorcerer had never hurt you, and you are confident that he never would either… well, fairly confident… you can’t shake the suspicion that there is more to that smile then there appears.

“I don’t think we need to worry about that, it ain’t like a stupid human could over power us.”, Mammon added his thoughts at just the right moment to piss you off, and you find yourself threatening him, before you’ve even thought to try and get the scowl back off your face.

“I don’t need a fucking conversation with you about how much weaker us ‘stupid human’s’ are, than our bloody overlord demons, okay? If you say the phrase ‘Stupid human’ to me once more before we find Satan I’m going to stab you in the face with a spork.”, You were already making arm motions mimicking stabbing by the time you managed to reel your mind back.

Once back in solid control you snap your arms into a folded position across your chest and mumble a barely audible “Sorry” under your breath.

Mammon looks far more confused than scared right now, he exchanges glances with Asmo who shrugs, then he looks at the other human for clarity, “What?! What is a spork?!”.

Solomon’s face hasn’t moved a muscle since he phrased his question to you, but now he waves his hand indifferently, “It’s a cross between a fork and a spoon.”.

The demon returned his blue eyes to you and raised an eyebrow, “Why would ya choose that of all things?”. You tut at him.

“Specifically, where I come from it’s a tiny, plastic, rounded implement designed for eating chips. I’d do more damage than you’d think, and it’d be humiliating for the receiver too.”, You shrug.

Asmo laughs at your explanation, “Oohh my, how terribly devilish of you.”.

“Well, I’m glad somebody finds this funny.”, you scowl at him, and your expression deepens when he makes a kissing face in the air as his response.

Solomon clears his throat and you turn back to face him, “Whatever it is you are thinking of threatening him with, don’t waste your breath. He will find a way to decide that he would enjoy it.”. Asmo pouts at him but doesn’t interrupt as the sorcerer continues speaking, “As amusing as all of this is…I can’t help you. You’re not strong enough to call him back.”.

Asmo frowns instead now, “But, she called me to the labyrinth. I felt it, she is really powerful.”.

Then his eyes glossed over with a wistful expression of lust and you averted your gaze to stave off the sudden urge to throttle him.

“Yes. You are forgetting a few details though… That was my magic and not MC’s. More importantly, you were in the same building and **willing** to be called.”, Solomon raised his brow at your shared pact mate, but when all he got in response was a sulky huff, he addressed you again, “If you can feel Satan resisting you, there is no way we have time to train you how to control the pact well enough to summon him, before you become engulfed with wrath.”.

“Engulfed? Well that just sounds like it’s going to be a great laugh.”, you can’t resist pouting like a small child who was just refused sweets.

Although you are annoyed with your miniature tantrum, you’re inwardly relieved that it’s showing this way and you aren’t taring their faces off yet. There is certainly a little green flame inside you that would find an outburst like that very satisfying.

Mammon bristles, “Woah, WOAH…are ya saying she will get lost to it completely? I ain’t about to let that happen, ya better think up another way to fix this.”.

He caught the way you stared at him with a mixture of affection and amazement at his display of concern for you.

You wish he hadn’t seen it though, because it inevitably led to him covering his tracks as usual, “Oi, don’t look at me like that, it ain’t like I like ya or anything. It’s just my job to protect ya that’s all.”.

In an instant your back to wanting to stab him.

“Speaking of ‘jobs’, it isn’t my job to fix this, so please don’t insinuate that I ‘had better’ do anything at all.” Solomon glared at the second born who looked like he was about to explode in response before Asmo jumped in, “You know something, I know that look. Please? For me?”.

The sorcerer stared unmoving at the golden eyed demon for a long while, eventually he languidly stood from his chair and crossed his arms, before leaning forward to look at your face more closely. The nearness made your skin tingle, and you held your breath for fear of blurting out something else ridiculous.

“I have an idea.”, he finally said before moving away from you again.

“But I want to be clear, I’m not agreeing because any of you asked me nicely.”, he shot a look of distain at Mammon before continuing, “I don’t want to see any harm come to MC… and this will be interesting so I’m in.”.

The tall man edged away from you as his sly smile returned and you knotted your hands to prevent an unsavoury urge to wipe it away with a fist.

_‘Is Satan really like this all the time?’_

You ponder to yourself about how difficult it must be for him to constantly push down these kinds of thoughts. It must be exhausting to feel like he is constantly reigning back expletives and insults, not to mention the physical efforts it is beginning to take for you to not lash out.

You have no idea how he manages to remain so calm and collected.

You’re reminded of the duck analogy; the one where a duck seems calm on the surface but under the water, they are paddling like mad just to stay afloat.

Suddenly you feel like it would be all too easy to just stop paddling and drown in the rage, the heat it lends you is inviting, and honestly you think it would take less effort to just let the instinct take over than to hold it back.

You scowl at your own imaginings, surrendering to that is definitely not on your list of things to do today, so you prompt your fellow human for an explanation.

“Alright, what should I do?”, you’re both amazed and relieved at how calm your question sounds.

Solomon answers easily, as if he believed the answer had been obvious all along, “Telephone lines work two ways, right?”.

When you nod at him with a confused expression his smile changes to something more genuine, “So do pacts. If he won’t come to you, you can go to him.”.

You blink a few times, “You know that I don’t know how to do that.”.

You frown.

“You can sense him, right? You told these two that it was like a flame. All you have to do is concentrate on that flame and it’ll give you directions. Unfortunately, it’s not very reliable over long distances, so it’ll be a bit like needing to play Marco Polo at first.”, he waved his hand expressively before resting it back across his chest.

“But… What if he’s not in the Devildom?”, worry flashes across your face as you accidentally voice your thought aloud.

Asmo moves to squeeze you reassuringly, and you practically growl as you shrug his arms away. The sound isn’t one you’re used to making, and you feel bad for denying his touch, but you just can’t deal with physical contact on top of everything else right now.

He doesn’t seem phased though, simply opting to get close to your ear and whisper instead, “Hmm, that was a fun sound. But seriously… he won’t have left the Devildom. I know you can find him.”.

The silk tones of his voice wash over you, for a brief moment you feel calm, but the fire in the pit of your stomach returns so quickly that you start pacing around again just to keep it at bay. Although you do manage to grind out a quiet ‘thank you’ before you are away from his ear shot.

“Where do I start?”, you pose the question with an agitated shrug.

“Just like ya did in my room. Look for your pact energy.”, Mammon speaks surprisingly softly, and you experience a pang of guilt for literally wanting to gouge his eyes out with a chip spork earlier.

You force yourself to stand still and look for that magical fizzle that you were beginning to know so well. You found it quickly this time, it practically screamed its presence at you as soon as you took the time to look. It made you wonder if all your pacts have been laying in plain sight this way.

The heat hit your face in the way that it does when you step out of a plane into a hot country. A wall of dry heat that signifies you have arrived. You try to call out to the fire and feel that hot green push back again.

“When you see it don’t call, he will only continue to push you away. Just observe it. What do you see around it? Will he tell you anything? I know it feels silly, but it’ll work if you just trust it.”, Solomon’s explanation was slow and calm.

You nod your understanding and close your eyes to block out the sights of his room and concentrate.

When you focus again the heat doesn’t feel like a solid wall anymore, but a warm embrace that calls to the fire in the pit of your stomach.

You try to reach out to the green flame that develops around your senses but there is another sharp push. All it does is make you more determined though, the rage that you have been supressing pushes back at it, and the resistance stops.

There is a pause when you feel like your floating between the two energies, although they feel more like one single current now.

**_Wrath is destructive. Wrath is dangerous. Wrath will be exhausted before he returns._ **

****

You aren’t sure where those words came from.

They float around you in the flames that have gotten so close without you realising, they lick up your legs, but to your surprise they do not burn. The words don’t sound like Satan’s voice, but they feel like him, and it makes you curious to see if they will speak with you.

_‘Why? What do you mean by exhausted?’_

**_Wrath is satiated by destruction. Once enough is destroyed, he will return safely._ **

****

That is about as much of a non-answer as you would expect from Solomon. Satan is usually far more straight forward.

**_She must not see._ **

_‘Not see what?’_

**_Too dangerous. She must be protected._ **

_‘The hell I must.’_

The energy flares again, and you feel faint.

Your stomach threatens to empty its contents as adrenaline pulls the blood away to fire your muscles and senses. The fight or flight response in you is being dragged hotly into the fight end of the spectrum and you hiss.

Unbeknown to you, you make the sound out loud.

Both Asmo and Mammon can feel the magic tension and exchange concerned glances. Mammon worries if Levi and Beel can also feel it.

Solomon steps forward to stop either of them interrupting you, with a curt glare that instructs them both to allow you to finish.

He places a hand on your shoulder and speaks in a low smooth tone, “Try not to fight him too much, look past it to see what is around him.”.

His words seep into your conscious as you stare down the abyss of green.

You try to look around, but you’re pulled in by the sound of the mysterious words again.

**_Wrath must be quelled. She must stay away._ **

_‘She is not in the mood for games.’_

**_No games. True danger._ **

_‘I can feel you, you know. The energy it takes to not let this out, I’ve felt it now.’_

**_Wrath will not return until spent._ **

_‘Fine. Petulant child.’_

You stand silent for a long while just gazing at the flames.

The longer you look the more they begin to look like leaves.

Dark, almost black leaves on strong branches edge the frame of the heat. You assume you are getting to tired to keep this up, when the leaves and the flames start to phase in and out of each other.

Then, out of nowhere, you see a dirt path under your feet too. Shadow covered rolling mounds of grass are flanked by tall dark trunks and there is a smell of moss. There are small flowers too, tiny little blue clusters… and ferns.

The image is as clear as day, but as soon as you acknowledge it, it disappears from view.

Your eyes fly open and all three men are staring at you in anticipation.

You wave your arms around involuntarily expressive as you bolt forward to latch onto Solomon.

The sorcerer freezes when you wrap your arms around him and kiss the side of his face. His eyes are wide when you move away to look at him and he looks troubled by your reaction.

Asmo on the other hand appears to be quite amused as he nudges the man’s side with a wink.

“Oi, Oi…Less of that. What did ya see”, Mammon swiped your hand up in his and turned you away from the only other human in the Devildom.

When your mind puts it like that you wince, it’s not a thought you like to be reminded of. Despite that, there is a taste of victory that seems to have your own wrath tasting slightly sweeter for now.

“It’s a forest.”, You declare happily.

He frowns at you, “Do ya know how many forests we have here?”.

“It was dark.”, you added, but as soon as the words were out of your mouth you knew that they didn’t clarify a single thing.

The demon settled his hands on his hips with a grunt of distain, “Most of ‘em are dark.”.

You tried to picture it again in your mind but it was gone, the fire was gone too now that you weren’t actively looking, but you could feel a gentle tug of magic still… it whispered to you quietly encouraging you to move south.

“There were ferns, and small flowers. South.”, you’re aware that what you said didn’t exactly make sense but Asmo brightened.

“South it is.”, he shone a remarkably charming smile at you… any other time you would have melted to it.

You left Purgatory hall now a troupe of four instead of three, seen out from the building with the sound of Luke complaining that the hall would now smell like demons.

You’re barely back out onto the street when Levi appears from around a corner, running in your direction, and visibly out of breath.

You stare at him dumfounded while he folds forward, hands on his knees propping up his chest while he heaves in recovery breaths.

“Eh, what are you doing outside?”, Asmo piped up while Levi was still hunched over.

The third born stayed slouched but looked up with a mix of emotions in his expression, “I … There was a thing… MC called.”.

You shook your head, “No, I didn’t.”.

He looked at you confused, “Look… I don’t know if this is how it works… but there was a voice.”.

The breathless demon stands upright but is still visibly struggling to calm his breaths. Running is clearly not his strong point; you’d noticed this before when he has chased after Mammon for his owed money.

“A voice?”, Asmo pouted at him and tutted.

Levi nodded, “It was weird. Like this green spark that told me she needs to be protected. I followed it here.”

Mammon made a noise of complaint, “We felt it too, I didn’t get any creepy voices though.”.

Following that Asmo nods, “Oh yes, that resistance.”.

You look between the three of them confused.

Solomon was standing with his hand to his chin mulling something over in his mind, after a short while he added his assessment, “It looks like the energy surge dispersed out across your other pacts. Satan must have pushed back really hard…what did you say to him?”.

You bristled, “What do you mean what did I say to him? He was already pissed off before I even looked.”.

You shot him death glares daring him to blame you further. He simply shook his head.

Levi waved his hands, “WOOAAHH … wait, are you telling me that was Satan’s voice!? It came to me through MC like an ethernet link? It’s just like ‘I’m a lonely demon girl whose been pulled into a strange realm and has to figure out all the people connected to my destiny by pinging on the strings of fate that connect us before I get killed by the vengeful overlord’.”.

The purple haired demon had turned an interesting shade of pink by the time he finished talking, and while you can’t say he doesn’t look cute like that, his weird excitement agitates that lava pit inside you and you clench your jaw, looking at him through narrowed eyes.

He catches your look and swallows slowly, then shared worried looks with his brothers, “Wait… where is Satan?”.

“Oohh he is rage breaking.”, Asmo cooed cheerily, almost giddy to reveal the gossip that he’d had to keep under wraps until now. His eyes positively glowing with excitement as he continued, “And, we are going to get him.”.

Levi’s face falls and he stares at his brother with a blank expression for a moment, before panic boils up behind his eyes, “Oh no, that’s not a good idea… you know why we normally leave him to work it out himself.”.

Mammon sighed, “Not an option this time, his rage is seeping through and taking over MC. This is a bad idea I know it… but we gotta calm him down.”.

The avatar of envy looked at you with something resembling pity for an abandoned dog, it made you swallow back an insult about him going back to his cave if he didn’t like the plan. He straightened his back to square his gaze on you, it is a bit intimidating seeing his whole hight since he hunches over most of the time with his nose in a screen.

“I’m coming with you.”, was the last thing you expected him to say to you.

You find yourself gawping at him while Asmo cheerily herds up your now party of five, “Come on, this won’t fix itself if we don’t find him, so let’s get a shimmy on.”.


	31. Three minutes is sometimes all you need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC narrows down Satan's location, although predictably he isn't too pleased to see her.   
> Solomon's extra help is unexpected but appreciated, after MC deals with each bother's concerns over the hazardous situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for those who need them: Some violence, self destructive behaviour, poor coping mechanisms.
> 
> This chapter is a lot longer than usual, I wanted to deal with this entire scene in one go, so that in the next chapter the story can progress having worked out this wrathful distraction.

**Beelzebub:** Hey, this might sound odd but, I feel strange.

 **Beelzebub:** Did you try to call me? Where are you?

 **MC:** I’m with your brothers.

 **MC:** We’re south of the city.

 **Beelzebub:** Why? There is nothing there but forest.

 **MC:** We are meeting Satan.

 **Beelzebub:** Oh?

 **Beelzebub:** You got to speak to him after all?

 **MC:** Sort of.

 **Beelzebub:** Do you want me to come with you?

 **MC:** No, I’m fine honestly.

 **MC:** Mammon, Levi and Asmo have all tagged along already.

 **MC:** ヘ(￣ー￣ヘ)

 **Beelzebub:** Are you sure?

 **MC:** Certain. Thank you.

 **Beelzebub:** Okay. You can call on me if you change your mind.

 **Beelzebub:** I’ll wait for you.

* * *

When the messages had come through you were nearly at the edge of the city.

The side of your brain clouded with a haze of boiling rage, was decidedly pissed off that your pact connections had essentially ratted you out, to all of your pact mates. It made you not want to answer the messages at all.

But, the other half of you did not want to worry Beel, you didn’t want to lie to him either. So, you opted for half-truths and made a promise to the still rational side of your brain, that you would make it up to him later.

You suppose you should be grateful that you don’t have a pact with Lucifer at this point.

He would only turn up with his heavy-handed tactics and upset everyone anyway. It’s not something you would have ever thought of as an advantage before. You grimace and shove your D.D.D. back into your pocket with a huff.

Solomon places his hand on your elbow to draw your attention, you stare at the point of contact for a moment before looking up to meet his gaze with a stern frown.

He doesn’t let you go, and you try hard to avoid the impulse to pull away while he speaks, “What was that? Is something wrong?”.

You shake your head with a sigh, “Only confirmation that Beel felt that energy too.”.

He releases you but regards you with a curious expression, “Is he going to come running to your rescue to?”.

“You say that like it’s something you haven’t done yourself.”, you bite back at his teasing and he smiles.

You narrow your eyes at him, but he does not turn away, which irritates you. He’s so stubborn and confident in his own abilities, and he is handsome too… it’s not fair.

He chuckles after a few moments of being subjected to your stare, “I’m just interested in how you have inspired such care from so many of the strongest demons in the Devildom.”. He paused, “And, a little from me too.”.

Your stare changes from a glare to something of wonder.

_‘Did… did he just say he cares about me?’._

The sorcerer chuckles again, “So, is he coming or not?”.

“No. I told him I’m fine and that those three are with me.”, you gestured to the demons accompanying you.

Asmo noticed immediately and sauntered towards the two of you.

The fair-haired demon inserted himself between you and wrapped one arm around each of your shoulders. The weight of his arm around you causes a flare of annoyance and you remind yourself that he is just being himself, in an attempt to squash the agitation.

“What are my two favourite Humans talking about?”, he asked cheerily, and his voice settled on you like a calming blanket. You wonder if this feeling is why he and Satan spend so much time in each other’s company.

_‘After all… A soft voice turneth away wrath, as they say.’._

You shrug, “Beel.”.

He smiles at you brightly, “Oohh, what about him? You’re not withholding a good story from me are you darling?”.

You can’t help but return his smile, you think it’s the first time a smile has been on your face since you walked into Satan’s room this afternoon.

You prod his shoulder, “No. He messaged to see if I needed him. I told him you are with me and that I’m fine. I don’t think we need even more people here.”.

You glance over your weirdly assembled troupe and wonder if it’s actually already too many. If you were trying to push someone away, you don’t think you would appreciate it if extra witnesses turn up to see the inevitable fight.

_‘Oh Gods, He’s going to hate me for not listening.’._

Your shoulders drop a little, Asmo responds by squeezing you gently, before appearing to remember the current situation and letting you go with an apologetic smile. “Do you think that’ll be enough to keep him at home?”.

“He said he will wait for me. Beel respects my space when I ask, unlike some demons I know, I’m sure he will wait.”, you offer in response, suddenly not believing your own reassurance.

He nods knowingly at you, “Don’t worry love. If he said he will wait, he will. But… we should hurry up, He might get fed up with waiting.”.

You groan and curse internally at these amazing, loveable, handsome but damn right frustrating demons… none of whom have any idea what tact and subtly are.

Asmo takes a few steps ahead so that he can walk backwards in front of you and continue talking, “Besides, at the end of this street the forests start, so we are closer than you think.”.

You find his statement hard to believe, the streets look like they go on forever and you can’t see any evidence of forests the other end, save for one lonely tree defiantly growing next to what looks like the last building in the row.

Much like everything here though, what you see is not always as obvious as it appears.

In a few short minutes of walking, the dark street gives way to a meadowed opening, filled with pretty little flowers. The wild grassy area slopes gently down to a forest, the canopy of which had been hidden on the horizon due to the dip in the landscape.

A few dirt paths like the one you had seen in the flames trail off in various directions, most seeming to go down into the forest, but a few also twist back across the edge of the city and back into other streets.

It is while your eyes are following the little trails that Mammon stops his discussion with Levi to speak with you, “Okay, where next MC?”.

You hadn’t thought that far ahead, now that you are here all the paths look the same, and there was nothing about your vision that was unique on the path.

“I have no idea.”, your voice sounds defeated as you sigh.

Although, you can still feel a stubborn determination seeping up from the hot rage that you have been sitting on during your journey.

Solomon shoos the snowy haired demon away from you while issuing more instructions, as he had done in his room earlier, “Now we are closer you will be able to see more if you look again. Start the same way, and bypass calling him… I doubt he will be impressed to learn that you are tracking him.”.

You take a steadying breath and close your eyes again, you hear Levi question Solomon about what is happening, but he is met with shushing sounds from the others present and it quickly falls quiet so that you can concentrate.

You don’t need to look for the right pact frequency this time, it comes rushing up into your senses to meet you instead.

There is a woosh of hot air flying past your face, you feel it lift your hair as it arrives, and the green flames are immediately at your feet, wrapping up your legs and lapping at your waist. The speed of it is intimidating and you consider opening your eyes again to get out of it. But the hot pit inside you immediately responds to the familiar energy, the rage roars up past your ears in a deafening swoop of obstinance against the stronger force.

Satan’s energy delves headlong into your own dizzying anger, and again there is a pause in the onslaught from the heat that had pushed out to distance you.

You don’t hear any words this time, but the smell of moss returns quickly. The path from before uncurls in front of you, it lays itself along the top of one of the paths in the meadow and trickles forwards along it into the tree line.

There is another rush of air and you no longer see the path, instead there is another image of the dark and thick forest. The flames still lick in around the edge of what you can see and start to overtake the image, obscuring it from view.

The words finally float in around you, but there is an unsettling feeling in your gut that is brought to life at the sound.

**_Come not within the measure of my wrath._ **

****

It is followed quickly by the sound of cracking wood, like a felled tree.

The sound arrives in your head as loud as a siren so suddenly that it makes you jump. Your eyes open sharply, and you visibly take a step back… all of the pictures and heat of the images before you disappear in an instant.

This time though, the rage in you that stood up in response to the flames does not return to your stomach.

Levi is the first to speak with a concerned look on his face as he motions for your attention, “MC, I heard that warning. Are you sure you want to do this?”.

He is staggered by the amount of anger flashing behind your eyes when you turn to him to speak, but you do your best not to sound too demeaning as you respond, “I don’t have a choice. I can feel him so strongly that I have a headache… This way.”.

You do in fact have a headache; you can feel the strain against your temples as you try to quiet the voice inside you commanding that you feed it with destruction.

Your collection of demons allows you to lead the way, easily following behind your direction.

You can hear them questioning each other about what they might expect to find in the forest ahead, but you ignore their poor attempts at hushed conversation. They might have known Satan his entire life, but after the things you have felt today, you are pretty certain that you are the only one who is prepared for the clash about to take place.

Solomon is less inclined to be so reserved and falls into step beside you, “Why did you snap out of your vision so quickly? What did you feel?”.

You don’t look at your companion and are not in the mood for polite conversation, but you take a second to compose yourself and answer anyway, “It was a sound, not a feeling. It was so loud, like I was physically there. It shocked me and I lost concentration.”.

He raised a brow at you, not that you could see it, while you stubbornly focused on following the same path you had seen unfold in the vision.

He is quiet for a while, you’re more than halfway to the tree line before he comments again, “You’ve only been learning for a day. Processing sounds through the pact is… advanced. I’d like to work with you more, at a less pressing time of course.”.

It piques your interest enough for you to look at him, “What about voices?”.

He frowns, “Voices don’t transfer across well. Subconscious thoughts can though.”.

You’re quiet for a while.

_‘Don’t subconscious thoughts betray our conscious decisions?’._

The thought has you on edge, what if Satan isn’t in control of the warning he made, what if he is separated from that reasoning… the ideas make your headache worsen.

As you all pass under the canopy of the first trees, there is an instant cooling in the air, as the light from the city lamps fade behind you.

You take a breath as you follow the path around a turn, “Solomon? What happens if I talk to those thoughts?”.

He stares at you in disbelief for a moment before he remembers himself and schools a flat expression back onto his face, “Before I answer that, did he answer you when you did?”

You nod, biting back the urge to insult him for clearly underestimating you. That’s something you definitely don’t want to get into with him, he has been kind enough to help. You were a complete amateur just a few short hours ago, you can’t blame him for assuming you wouldn’t be able to progress far in this time.

“Sorcerers train for many years to get to that stage. Congratulations MC. But be careful, sometimes you learn truths you would rather not hear when a subconscious speaks.”, Solomon is wearing half a smile and you can’t decide if he is pretending not to be happy for you, or hiding something more dangerous by smiling.

You don’t have time to come to a conclusion on the sorcerer though, as you walk through another turn and are greeted by several uprooted trees, in the back of your mind you hear the cracking sound again.

You freeze and stare at the scene in front of you.

There are half a dozen enormous trees felled around the path, laying along the ground creating vast craters where their roots had once been. Some were deep enough that the gouge in the land beneath them could easily swallow you if you were to jump down inside them.

You aren’t the only one taken aback by the state of the poor trees, you hear the conversation among your escorts trail off as they catch up with the sight ahead of you all. Mammon see’s it last and distractedly bumps into Asmo, who scolds him immediately for not paying attention to his surroundings.

Levi uses the opportunity to catch up with you. He looks as though he is going to ask you something, so you cut him off quickly, “Yes, I’m sure. No, we don’t have a choice. Yes, I know Satan did this. No, you can’t convince me to wait it out.”.

Your voice is heated and accompanied by a fierce glare that ensures he doesn’t dare to question it.

Just in case he does try, you walk onwards before he has the chance to respond.

The further you walk the more trees are uprooted, after a while you also find broken tree branches across the path, and some of the felled trees are broken along their middle. Splintered edges of wood sprang up haphazardly from the trunks, they lay strewn around as if they are nothing more than dropped lollipop sticks.

The more numerous they become the more irritated you feel.

Looking at all of this damage is like some occult dystopian future after the world is destroyed, it feels like mindless destruction, but the rage that sings to you from inside your veins takes an odd sense of satisfaction in it.

Then it happens, the cracking noise returns, and you jump at the sound.

This time, it is not inside your vision but a reality, that sounds like it is merely yards away. The rest of your troupe exchange glances with each other that convey everything from surprise, to understanding, to concern.

Deep down you had expected to hear it eventually though.

Now you know you are close.

The flames inside you rise further, you can feel the heat through the pact now that you are close enough, and it easily pulls you in the direction you need to go. You willingly follow its tug, although not without trepidation for the sight that might greet you, when you find the man you are seeking.

You press onwards along the path, and in no time, you find a clearing in the woods.

It does not take long to realise that the clearing has been artificially made. There are more felled trees, broken limbs, splintered trunks and craters in the earth missing their roots.

The cracking noises are frequent, joined by the sound of soil trickling down from roots to which it once clung. The atmosphere in the clearing is different to the rest of the forest, its oppressive, weighted down by a feral instinct which has you stepping forward into the space as if it is part of you.

When you step forward you notice the floor is carpeted in moss, as your feet pad over it, it releases the smell from your vision.

You are lost, absorbing all the sights around you like a twisted déjà vu, when you hear a shout from several of your companions. You turn your head towards the sounds in time to see a giant tree racing towards you as though it were weightless.

You are very aware that it is not light at all as it starts to lose altitude, you know you don’t have time to get yourself out of its path. You helplessly watch as it plummets down.

There is a moment of surreal acceptance when you could swear that the tree moves in slow motion. It is only when you notice it start to pull away from you in reverse that reality settles back over you.

You are wide eyed as Levi steps into view, he is in his demon form, his tail is curled tightly around the trunk and he sets it down at the edge of the clearing with a look of distain on his face.

“Come on Normie! Player two needs to look alive in a boss fight.”, the purple haired demon hisses at you as he swipes you up off the ground and sets you back down outside the clearing.

You know you should be grateful to him, but with the rage that is not your own coursing through you, you glare irritably.

You’re angry with yourself for blindly stepping forward like that. It was a stupid mistake and you know it. You’re not going to admit to that though.

“Like hell am I player **two** in this situation. Dumb Otaku.”, you snap the words quickly and move to step back out into the clearing, but he wraps an arm around your waist to halt you.

He looks at you with deep concern, but still huffs, “It’s not fair you always take player one… But, whatever. Just stay alert.”.

You are still glaring at him and your surprised that he has the nerve to say that, given the amount of venom you know is in this stare. His arm tightens around you protectively.

When you don’t answer he speaks again, “I just don’t want you to be hurt.”.

“I may not have demon senses … but we need the loot drop, so let me go.”, you’re pleased with how calm you manage to sound in your response.

He even sweeps his eyes over you while he considers your words. Slowly he loosens his grip on you, “Check the surroundings first. Let us help you.”.

The demon doesn’t wait for a response, he steps aside and removes his arm. By now though, Asmo and Mammon are also both fussing about the incident, you feel bad for snapping at them both, but you are telling them to back off and let you deal with your own problem before you even register what they are trying to say.

You wave them all off as you look into the clearing with more presence of mind this time, at the far edge you can see Satan in his demon form.

His shirt is gone, but some tatters remain tucked into his waist band, so you assume it has been torn by the tree limbs. You unconsciously hold your breath as you watch him tear at the enormous plants, discarding chunks that are broken away with no real sense of presence. It’s hard to see his face from here, but the heat you can feel from him is unmistakable.

The rage is palpable, it sits heavily over your shoulders as you move around the tree line at the edge of the clearing to get closer.

When you’re in front of him, he doesn’t register your presence, either from distraction in his activities, or denial. His face looks grim and his eyes are almost entirely yellow, the beautiful green hues relegated to the edges of his irises. His hair is a mess, and you can see the physical strain on his muscles as he moves on in a blind fury from tree to tree.

This time when you attempt to step out, it is Asmo’s arm that you feel around your waist holding you in the relative protection of the canopies with them. You spin to face him, fully prepared to unleash a flurry of offensive complaints, but are silenced by his lips on yours.

His mouth is warm and soft, and you feel it quench some of the flames rearing up at your protest to being stopped. It takes a great deal of effort not to latch onto that feeling, not to kiss him back so fervently that you steal his breath in your own need to be calmed.

You can clearly hear both Mammon and Levi complaining behind you, but you don’t care.

Evidently neither does Asmo, since he deepens the kiss before leaning his head down to your ear, “Darling, I know you have to talk him down by yourself. But, please be careful… let us help you where we must.”.

When you nod he releases you.

Another errant tree heads your way, it crashes into the tree line just a few feet away and drops to the floor with a heavy thud. The dull sound resonates through your core and you have a brief spark of annoyance, not unlike a mother who has had enough of her child’s tantrum.

You take a deep breath and walk towards the discarded trunk, stepping over it carefully into the clearing once more. This time your eyes are firmly set on the thrashing demon in front of you. You watch Satan’s movements carefully as you move forward.

Mammon is erupting in his usual boisterous style behind you, “What do ya mean you just let her go out there!?”.

“Shut up and listen to me…”, is all you hear of Asmo’s tart response. You recognise the lower tone in his voice and you know he isn’t about to let the second born interrupt you.

As you near closer to the blonde in front of you, you can see more details about his appearance.

There are deep gashes, readily bleeding, strewn about his back and arms. His muscles are rippling under his skin as he moves about in flashes of rage, you can see dark green pulses emanating from him between movements, the flames you saw in your vision spark about him each time he stills.

You step closer, he has one of the largest branches you’ve ever seen between his palms. It makes you wonder if a limb this size is why they are sometimes referred to as boughs. You are shaken right out of the thought as the sound of it splintering into two races towards you.

With half a branch in each hand he spots you.

His eyes zero in on you, there is a terrifying moment while he stands still as a statue, the only movement is in his uncharacteristically yellow eyes sweeping over your form.

You swallow slowly, and take the opportunity to take another step forward, “Satan?”.

His eyes flick to your face when you speak, he doesn’t say a word, but growls in disgust and throws the two branch halves behind him. As you watch them travel behind him you notice his tail thrashing back and forth, like a cat who is done with your touching. It gouges large divots in the soil either side of him as the green tip whips against the floor.

You step forward again.

“Stop!”, He growls the sound out between carefully measured breaths.

“Satan, I…”, you’re quickly cut off by more gravelly words from the avatar of wrath, “What are you doing here?”. He glares at you, unmoving besides for his tail which hasn’t calmed at all.

Being cut off does nothing for the flames licking at your own bad mood. You tilt your head at him using every ounce of will power not to argue back, you know that isn’t the answer.

“You’ve been gone days, I am worried.”, your voice is remarkably soft given the circumstances and you aren’t sure how long you’ll be able to keep it that way.

He scowls at you, “Have you not heard of blind rage? You need to leave… NOW.”.

Any hopes of a quick resolution are extinguished when he tears at another nearby tree limb. You wince as it cracks and bark flies hazardously close to you.

He goes back to ignoring your presence, the dismissal stokes the heat inside you, and you bristle at his indifference. You’re not about to give up that easily, but it occurs to you that your determination is giving you tunnel vision. The thought suggests that it must have taken a considerable amount of effort for him to reign in the berserker type energy for long enough to have addressed you in the first place.

You place yourself in front of him again, “I’m not leaving unless you come with me.”.

Most of the softness has already left your voice, your statement is a stubborn promise rather than a suggestion.

He turns past you with more splintered wood between his hands, “You’re not safe here. Why did you leave the house without anyone?”.

He grinds the words out as he doubles over the pieces in his hands and breaks them again, bark spiking up out of them and piercing his forearm. He doesn’t seem to notice, but you panic about the new injury and forget yourself again.

“I’m not alone.”, you bite out as you rush forward to stem the bleeding.

He shakes you off with a growl, “They **brought you** here!?”.

“I brought myself.”, you snap back.

You notice the flare in his eyes, but next you are enveloped in a flash of white. You’re aware of a streak of green and black narrowly missing your face as the fourth born’s tail whips towards you like a viper.

There are strong arms around your ribcage, dragging you away to the side of the clearing and tumbling to the floor, the movement knocks the wind out of you. Mammon is known as being the fastest of the brothers, and though you’re struggling to get your breath back, you’re glad he made it count today.

Your relief is short lived though as the rage begins to bubble over for you. You immediately scramble back to your feet and stalk back towards the clearing with a determination born of your own breaking point.

You feel arms circle you again and Mammon’s voice rings in your ear, “What are ya doing? You saw him, he’s not far enough past it to be reachable.”.

“He will be more than god damn reachable when I try to motherfucking kill him, I’ll tell ya that for free.”, you hiss the words out while straining to get free.

To your surprise you do half escape, but the speedy demon manages to catch you back to him with a little extra effort.

He growls at you under his breath, “Ya might be full of demon wrath, but you’re still human! How do ya expect to do that?”.

“Let me go.”, you speak slowly and in a deep tone, it’s not a pact command but the demon still falters for a second, allowing you to break free.

He flusters and waves his hands franticly to keep your attention, “Look it ain’t safe for ya. You should let him work some more out of his system before ya try him again. It’s too soon.”.

“You and I both know I need to do this now or it’ll take me over too.”, your voice is still deep and the scowl that you fix him with would easily have lesser demons cowering.

Mammon makes an attempt to reach for you again, but his effort is blocked by the materialisation of a transparent shimmering wall between you, it circles him quickly and you see his face cloud with anger as he hits his hands against it.

You recognise that shimmering.

You turn to look across the clearing to Solomon… Levi and Asmo are also looking annoyed inside walls of their own near to him.

He points to his wrist and shouts across the space to you, “Five minutes is all I can give you! That’s all the time you’ve got to do what you need to do.”.

He taps his wrist again and holds up five fingers to you, you nod and touch the wall in front of you.

“You might be used to doing it your way Mammon, but your way never included me absorbing his wrath before. You have to let me do this.”, you place a kiss to your own palm and press it back against the wall, before turning on your heels and rushing back out to the clearing.

Branches are flying through the air as you approach Satan again.

To everyone’s amazement you easily duck to avoid them and keep advancing, straightening to yell at the avatar of wrath using his own energy as fuel, “Hey! You can’t scare me off that easily!”.

He growls at you, “You **should** be scared. You should go home.”.

“No fucking chance princess! Your rage is trickling into me too, and you and me sugar… we’re gonna bloody fix it.”, you point your hand to him and he scowls, you feel the heat surge from him.

He is right, you should be scared, but you’re too overwhelmed by other emotions to have time for that.

His tail whips across the floor to your right, it makes you flinch, but you don’t retreat.

He flicks it to the other side of you and pulls up a large divot of earth in the process, this time you don’t flinch but your entranced watching his tail recoil after the action. He is throwing warning shots and you know it, you also know you’re not going to take any heed of it.

“You shouldn’t be here.”, his words are strained.

“Neither should you. I thought the fourth avatar I knew was in control of his sin, not the other way around.”, you bark back.

When he tares up another tree you glare at him. He must feel your eyes on him, as he turns to pointedly stare back at you, while he throws it up over your head towards the tree line behind. You don’t blink as it whizzes over your head, it hits other trunks and thuds to the floor.

You step closer, you’re almost in arms reach now, you don’t know what you’re going to do when you get there… you haven’t thought that far ahead yet, but your gut is telling you it is where you need to be.

In an instant Satan closes the gap between you and seizes your wrist tightly with one hand, he grinds out his next question intimidatingly close to your face, “Why are you so stubborn? You have zero self-preservation instincts.”.

You practically snort laugh in response and his grip tightens, “First off… Yeah, I’m not good at that. I noticed that too.”.

His tail whips the ground next to you again, this time landing much closer to your feet, but you continue on in seething defiance, “Secondly, I am scared. But not because you’re remotely intimidating. It’s terrifying caring for someone so much and being so worried about them, and they won’t even open up to you, or tell you when they are struggling. Talk about putting yourself out there for nothing.”.

The demon seizes your other wrist and holds it just as tightly as the first, which you ignore and finish off your list, “Thirdly… Fuck you too.”.

You are fully aware that goading the avatar of wrath is an extremely risky choice, but you can feel the heat of those flames creeping into the edges of your consciousness, and acknowledge that it’s not a choice that you made consciously.

He drags you in close to him and growls next to your ear, “You are playing a game that is far more dangerous than you understand.”.

You purposefully turn your head so that your lips are millimetres from his ear when you retort in a venomous drawl, “I already told you. I’m not in the mood for playing games.”.

You feel his breath pause while the comment resonates with him.

“How did you do that? I stopped you calling me.”, his question is less of a growl this time, but he seems no calmer.

You nod but don’t answer verbally.

The silence irritates him, there is a burst of movement before you find yourself flat on your back on the dusty earth, the breath knocked out of you again and his body above you.

Satan makes no effort to hold his weight off you as he slams your shoulders into the ground, “How? How did you do that? I put spells up to block you calling me back because I knew it was dangerous.”.

You cough as your chest heaves, you can feel a sharp stinging on your right collar bone as his palm presses down on the bruising there, it causes you to be shaken out of the anger that had given you enough bravado to square off with him.

Now, trapped against the floor under the scrutiny of his glowering eyes, anger flashing behind his irises as he yells at you, you suddenly feel very, very small.

Your face crumples up as he squeezes your shoulders tighter.

You groan as the bruise shouts its protests at you, so close to your vital arteries that the pain flashes along that side of your face, causing a white out of your eye and a blinding headache.

There is another flurry of movement, Satan releases your shoulders, you’re dragged up into a sitting position and his arms come back around you possessively. The heat that had been so menacingly clinging to your gut withdrew, leaving an empty space in its wake.

There is a short pause, and silence except for your rapid breathing.

When the headache subsides enough for you to force your eyes open, you’re met by the blonde demon looking at you in concern, the yellow had all but left his eyes and the green tones you are so familiar with peered at you with a mix of emotions.

You cough again and he wraps an arm around your head too, drawing you into his chest with a heavy sigh, “I could have killed you, why did you come here?”.

You settle against him closing your eyes for a moment.

“Welcome back.”, you hum against his bare skin.

_‘Skin? … Fuck!’._

You drag yourself away from him as you remember the cuts that litter his flesh.

He frowns at you while you fuss to stem bleeding on some of the deeper ones, “Did you hear me? If I hadn’t registered that you were in pain, I don’t think I could have pulled back.”.

He shifted his weight to pull your arms away from his wounds, cupping your hands in his with a half-smile, “Stop that. We should address your injuries first.”.

You look at him in confusion. You wiggle your joints to test them, you don’t feel any new injuries.

“I’m fine.”, you eventually conclude.

“That sound you made suggests otherwise. Let me see.”, he is unbuttoning the top two buttons on your shirt before he even finishes his sentence.

Your hand raises to catch his, but you are not quick enough as he pushes the collar open, revealing the bruising beneath. His face looks pained when his eyes fall on the patchy purple and red area.

You wrap your hands around his anyway and drop your head to snuggle your face against one of them, “You didn’t do that. It is healing, please don’t feel bad.”.

He shakes his head at you but doesn’t argue with your request, “We need to get you home, we can talk about this later.”.

“I could say the same to you.”, you tease him as he helps you to your feet.

Satan is the first to notice three agitated looking brothers behind their own magical walls, a fact you had forgotten.

Solomon strolls out into the clearing to join you and lazily compliments you, “Three minutes MC. I’d say you did well.”.

He gestures to the shimmering walls, “Are you ready for them to come down?”.

You nod, “But, are you ready? I don’t think you’re going to hear the end of their complaints.”.

Satan looks between you both in disbelief, “You had protection with you, and you bound them!? What is wrong with you?”.

You fix his gaze with yours and defiantly answer, “You know you wouldn’t have held back if they interfered. It only would have escalated, and I’d have been lost in your energy in the meantime.”.

He considers your words for a moment, then he nods slowly, “Sometimes it’s not so bad that you keep throwing yourself at our problems. Although… promise me you won’t put yourself in the path of my rage again, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to override it next time.”.

“I’ll make that promise, when you promise me that you won’t hide it from me if you’re having a hard time with it.”, your voice is calm and soft.

You’re amazed that you haven’t started to cry, you still feel oddly empty with the absence of the festering rage that had been taking up so many of your thoughts for the better part of the day.

He laughs, “Okay, I think I can work on that deal.”.

The shimmering walls imprisoning the other brothers break apart without Solomon’s command. It registered for you, that he hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told you he could only do this for five minutes.

Mammon wastes no time stepping out of his, and joins you in an instant, “Stupid humans! If she had gotten hurt you shady piece of crap, I’d have tared you limb from limb. What a sneaky trick to play.”.

The second born is furiously glaring at the sorcerer who shrugs with a disinterested expression, “If she was in real danger, I’d have let you go.”.

Any comeback Mammon might have planned is lost in his throat as a strangled sound replaces it, when Asmo swishes past him to curl his arm around your waist. The rose gold eyes happily train themselves on your face as he coos to you, “Bravo Darling. I told you I knew you could do this.”.

You squeeze his hand appreciatively, and he hums back, then turns his gaze to Satan, “I guess we have a new method to stop you mindlessly breaking things now.”.

Levi had spent time fussing over you to make sure that you are okay, with an awkward blush dusting his features. But, he quickly accepted your reassurances to be true.

Then he spent the rest of the journey back to the house of Lamentation trying his best not to get drawn into the brewing feud between Mammon and Solomon, as they argued with each other over the merit or underhandedness of the sorcerer’s wall.

You had insisted that you all stop by the pharmacy to collect the materials needed to clean and bandage the worst of Satan’s cuts. Much to his eternal dismay, Asmo had spent the trip helping you fuss over his brother’s wounds.

Asmo clearly enjoyed touching up a half-naked Satan more than actually nursing him, and more than once you caught Satan holding back the urge to throttle him.

You didn’t mind though, because it provided the avatar of wrath with the distraction of fending him off, which allowed you to clean all the wounds without protest. The small act of caring was helping to fill the void left behind when the rage lifted from you.


	32. A cuddly welcome home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one does what it says on the tin, brothers are waiting at the House of Lamentation for MC's return. There are cuddles! =^.^=

You bid farewell to Solomon, shortly before arriving back at the House of Lamentation, as he split off from the group to return to Purgatory Hall.

Asmo decided to accompany him back, you assume that he probably has some sharp words for his other pact holder about being trapped behind a wall, so you chose not to question his choice.

When you reach your Devildom home it is well past dinner time.

As you turn into the gates in the wall that surrounds the house, you can clearly see Beel standing on the porch. His form is pacing back and forth in front of the door.

You feel a pang of guilt for worrying him and making him wait.

When he sees you, he immediately breaks into a sprint down the steps and across the path to greet you. He envelopes you in his arms, and your feet are taken from beneath you as he spins around with you in his embrace.

“You took so long. I didn’t know if I should come find you. But you told me that you were fine, and I trust you.”, He placed you back on the ground carefully as he spoke.

Beel looks at you with bright eyes and the warmth beaming from him seeps into the empty void left behind, after the anger had lifted from you earlier this evening. You feel somehow more whole when a smile also spreads across his features.

“Thank you. I’m sorry I worried you.”, you squeeze him tightly and lean your head on his chest.

You hear a throat clearing behind you.

When you reluctantly break apart from the giant teddy bear of a man wrapped around you, you’re greeted by Mammon’s frowning face. You know he is about to start a rant at any moment, so you sigh and break your embrace with Beel, taking a step away from him.

Though, you are quietly pleased that the second born seems to be learning from your constant refusal to accept his over protectiveness, since he hadn’t immediately pulled you away from his brother.

“MC’s been through enough today, I don’t think she needs ya crowding her too Beel.”, the blue eyes scanned over you and he added, “But, uhh… ya know, she can make her own mind up. I s’pose.”.

He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck and flushed awkwardly.

Satan and Levi both do a double take in their older brother’s direction. Levi even pauses his digital manga reading to look up at him, mouth agape.

Satan places a hand on his hip and rests his other across his chest, “Did our idiot brother just respect your personal boundaries?”.

“Oi… I’m still here ya know. I can hear ya.”, Mammon grumbled back at him.

Levi giggled and brushed past you to take his leave, “I **need** to write about that on my blog -Scummy second born accepts that humans have their own mind too.”.

He paused to look at you.

At least you assume that was his original plan before he averted his eyes with a tell-tale blush across his cheeks, “You impressed me today normie.”. He squeaked the words out so quickly that you almost didn’t catch them, before he escaped back into the house.

As he makes his way indoors you notice a commotion on the porch.

Belphie stands from his position sitting across the steps. You had not seen him until now, he must have been leaning against the walls below the handrails.

He plods down the steps towards you with a disgruntled expression.

When he finally reaches you, his eyebrows knit together as he scans over Satan’s appearance.

His brother is still shirtless, littered in carefully tended cuts and scrapes, along with a few scattered bandages neatly wrapped around his arm and opposite shoulder. He is also covered in dirt and effortlessly carrying the bag containing the remaining medical supplies you had insisted on buying.

Once Belphie finished his appraisal he spoke lazily, “What the fuck happened to you? You look like you’ve been dragged through a bush backwards.”.

This drew a chuckle from Satan as he shrugs, “Yes. I’d say that is accurate.”.

A small smile tugged at your lips; it is reassuring to hear Satan laugh after the events of the last few days. It feels like he is slowly returning to himself.

The youngest then turned his gaze to you, it reminds you that you’re also covered in dirt and you blush over being in such a state.

“I suppose that you did something stupid to drag him out of said bushes?”, his voice holds an apathetic tone, but there is something in his eyes that resembles worry.

You shift your weight awkwardly from one foot to the other, you can hardly contest his point, it had been very dangerous after all.

“I…uh…”, you fumbled over the words to respond and felt your flush grow brighter as the guilt wrote itself across your face. Beel notices your discomfort and shuffles closer to place a hand on your shoulder comfortingly, you lift your hand to squeeze it back in thanks.

Belphie sighs heavily and waves his hand in front of you dismissively, “Look, whatever it was… I’m just glad you didn’t go alone. I’m sure I’ll find out the details later.”.

“Of course the great Mammon escorted her!”, the demon is animated as he proclaims his involvement in response to the youngest’s statement.

Mammon looks at you with an unusually warm expression, considering the company of his brothers.

He smiles brightly, “Ya kept ya promise. Ya remembered to take me with ya to do something stupid.”. He follows up with a pleased nod of his head.

Belphie stares at him with a raised brow and he runs his hands through his hair awkwardly.

Blue eyes meet yours again for a fraction of a second before he quickly turns his gaze to his brothers, then back to your general direction. He waves his arms in an exaggerated shrug, “Took ya long enough to let me do my job. Keeping ya safe is hard work ya know?”.

And there it is, the mask slides back on.

You sigh.

“Yes, yes… stupid, impulsive, reckless human. I know.”, you distractedly wave them all towards the door. “Don’t you think we ought to go get cleaned up now?”.

There are a few murmurings of agreement and you’re glad the conversation falls off as you all walk along the remaining path, and up the steps to the porch.

Once you’re inside Beel leans over to cwtch you tightly to him again, you sway gently into his chest as he pulls you in. The warmth of his embrace pulls you under easily, and you feel like you could stay lost in that feeling forever.

There is a short pause where no one spoke or moved, then he nuzzles the top of your head and sighs happily. “MC, thank you for always helping our family.”

When he pulls away slowly, his warmth seeps out too and you feel oddly sad.

“Don’t you want to know what happened?”, you question softly. He shakes his head with a warm smile, “I already know. Levi complained about Solomon’s wall on Devilgram.”.

Worry flashed across your face and you suddenly felt numb.

That means that the whole Devildom must know by now.

_‘Lucifer is going to lose his mind’._

You catch a glimpse of something dark in Satan’s expression before he trained on his normal polite smile.

“Oh don’t worry, Asmo had an argument with him in the comments, and threatened to destroy all of his figurines. He soon deleted it.”, Belphie seemed amused with the event as he recounted it to you. “Although, that’s all we know really… could you refrain from pulling on Beel’s pact next time? His anxiety over the whole thing stopped me sleeping.”.

The youngest apparently didn’t feel the need to wait for anyone to respond, turning on his heels with a huff and trudging off towards his room.

Beel shrugged with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, I worried. But, now I’m hungry. I’ll let you rest, and we can talk tomorrow.”.

The ginger demon swept you up in another quick hug before he disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

You stand immobile, staring after them.

You now have no idea how many people know, or how many details they saw about what happened today.

You know that you would have had to explain everything to the rest of the brothers at some point, but you’re irritated that once again you’re not able to have done that on your own terms. At least though, Levi already received threats from Asmo, so you don’t feel the need to scold him about it.

A hand rests on your shoulder from behind and Satan’s voice stirs you out of your thoughts, “We were a long way from home, when did you learn to call a pact from so far away?”. His question is soft and inquisitive.

“I learnt a lot about pacts just today actually. Solomon wants to teach me more.”, you turn to face him as you speak.

That is when you notice that Mammon has also disappeared from the entrance hall at some point. You think it is odd that he didn’t make a show of his exit but choose not to delve into that thought. It can be unboxed tomorrow when you are rested.

“You and Solomon seem to be getting along well lately.”, Satan’s observation is announced simply and there is a look of genuine curiosity on his face.

You shrug, “I guess I just hadn’t given him enough of a chance before.”.

Half a smile creeps onto the demons face, “Solomon will make a great teacher on the subject of pacts. Though, he only spends time on things that pique his interest. I can’t say I blame him; you **are** a very curious creature.”.

You gawp at him and he allows his half smile to spread into a full one, before taking up your arm and guiding you away from the doorway, “Let’s freshen up. After that we can talk about it more.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one took so long to add, it's also a short connecting scene too, please don't hate me for making you wait for an iddy biddy chapter .
> 
> ԅ[ •́ ﹏├┬┴┬┴
> 
> Bonus, the next part is nearly ready and will be posted tomorrow =^.^=


	33. Cleaning up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC and Satan take a much needed moment to freshen up after their forest encounter. Satan takes some time to explore what happened to them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning tags: This chapter discusses dealing with rage and empty emotions, it could perhaps be felt as a depressive aftershock. Other than that I think this one is pretty safe.

It’s easy to allow Satan to quietly guide you down the corridors.

He has returned almost entirely to his calm self, effortlessly escorting you through the house. There is no sense of oppressive energy trying to push you away anymore, almost in compensation for that earlier rejection, you find yourself gently leaning into his hold on your arm as you walk together.

When you reach your room, he slips his hand away from you and steps to the side to allow you to part ways, but you hesitate. “Umm, it’s getting late… your room is, umm. It’s going to take some time to put that right, would you like to use my bathroom and stay here with me tonight?”.

You’re amazed that you just asked that, Satan is one of the few residents of the house who hasn’t overnighted in your room before. Except for the body swap incident of course, but he wasn’t himself then and Lucifer had made the decision on everyone’s behalf at the time, so you don’t feel like it counts.

The fourth born likes his own space, and as a result he also tries to allow you to keep yours too. You have napped next to him before, sprawled across a sofa in the common room, or curled up next to him in the library, but an entire overnight stay with him seems so off limits.

The blonde looks at you blankly for a few moments, you begin to feel like you overstepped a boundary with your suggestion.

You look at the floor quietly, desperately hoping that he would respond, even if it is just to say goodnight and take his leave. You also consider that perhaps a hole opening up and swallowing you would be a better alternative.

You glance up when you hear him sigh, his expression doesn’t give any hints to what he might be thinking. “You are right, I’ll be awake all night just to get to the point where I can use my bed. Are you sure I won’t be imposing?”.

You blink at him; you weren’t expecting him to say yes. Then you realise you haven’t answered and spring to life awkwardly, “No. No, of course not. I wouldn’t offer if it was a problem.”.

It takes two attempts for you to get the door open, the handle judgingly rattles at your inability to completes such a simple task. When the door swings open you gesture for him to enter first. Green eyes almost look right through you as a smirk lights his face, but he steps past you smoothly and you follow, closing the door behind you with a gentle click.

“Thank you. I promise I will have everything fixed by tomorrow evening, so you won’t need to put me up for too long.”, Satan spoke easily, watching your face for any reaction.

_‘But what if I want you to?’_

You know you aren’t nearly as well versed as he is at keeping a serene expression, and you know that the disappointment you feel is clearly visible in your eyes. “It’s no bother, honestly. Don’t feel burdened to fix it quickly.”.

He raises an eyebrow and you flush.

“Anyway…ahh, you know where the bathroom is. If you want to use it first, I’ll grab a shower when you’re done.”, your voice is betraying a hint of nervousness, but otherwise sounds perfectly normal. You hope.

He smiles, “Thank you. Unfortunately, I’m probably going to need your assistance.”.

“Excuse me?”, you blurt out your response with a start, almost choking in surprise.

Satan waves a bandaged forearm at you, “Unless you’re going to allow me to just tare all of these off?”.

“Absolutely not. Come on.”, you seize the arm and tug him to the bathroom.

You’d painstakingly applied those dressings in between his complaints that it isn’t necessary, and Asmo gushing around the two of you. He is keeping them on until the morning, when you can properly check and redress them, if it kills you.

He casts an amused eye over you when you stand him next to the sink and turn on the taps, feeling the water to make sure it is warm before pushing in the plug.

He patiently waits for you to dig out a washcloth from your pile of towels and fuss about getting it lathered with soap. When you realise that you have had him standing there waiting for you, you hastily grab a stool from the side and usher him onto it.

Looking at him sitting there, you suddenly feel very conscious of his naked chest. Heat rushes into your face as your heart flutters betrayingly.

_‘This is ridiculous. He’s looked like that for hours already! Nothing has changed’._

The change though, is all to apparent despite your internal denial. Now the two of you are in close confines, alone, and without burning rage to keep you hyper focused on more pressing things.

Adrenaline had been running so high for you earlier that you’d barely even taken note of his state of undress. Now that you are free from the weight of his wrath, and the initial concern in bandaging and caring for his wounds has also passed, you’re acutely aware of how attractive the man you’re currently tending is.

You pull your thoughts away from inappropriate territory and turn to rinse the cloth.

The demon is still quietly waiting for you, and you swallow slowly before you finally lift your arm to gently clean his skin.

You delicately clean along the top of his shoulder, and down his arm, ensuring that your hand doesn’t make contact with his skin as you move along.

You make a point to focus your eyes determinedly on the cloth, and the immediate area you are cleaning. It takes a lot of effort to stop your eyes roaming over the rest of his chest and taking in his surprisingly muscular form.

Next you run the cloth along his jawline and down his neck. You stare at the junction between his jaw and ear and wonder how it would feel to kiss it.

“How are you feeling now?”.

When Satan speaks his voice echoes loudly around the bathroom and you jump out of your skin, cursing Asmo for his influence on your thoughts.

You take a breath to steady your now rapidly pounding heart, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”.

He shook his head, “I’ll be fine. It has happened to me before and I’m sure it’ll happen again eventually. It must have been intimidating for you to feel that way so suddenly. I’m sorry that my lapse of control leached out to you.”.

You busy yourself gently cleaning around the edge of the bandages adorning his other shoulder as you respond, “I shouldn’t have gone into your room. Although, I have to point out that I wouldn’t have if the situation had been explained to me, instead of being left in the dark feeling anxious about your disappearance.”.

He frowned, “I didn’t want you to have to see me like that. I normally deal with breaks in control alone, and I didn’t want you to worry.”.

“Well, I did. Also… you possibly picked the worst two people to entrust with a secret. Asmo did surprisingly well considering he practically lives for gossip. Mammon was terrible though; he was acting so strangely. It’s only natural that it’d make me worry more.”, you turned back to the sink to rinse the cloth again.

Satan huffed, “I didn’t choose them. They found me breaking things yesterday and I swore them to secrecy on pain of being hexed.”.

He catches your hand when you lift it again to continue your makeshift bed bath, “You didn’t answer my question. How are you feeling now?”.

His eyes meet yours with a steel to them that informs you he is serious about retracting an answer from you.

You stare at him for a moment.

“A bit weird. Earlier… I was empty.”, you attempt to pull your arm away, but he holds your hand firmly, tilting his head to assess you.

You sigh, “When Beel hugged me the feeling went away. Like his warmth replaced the missing anger.”.

The blonde smiles, “I can understand that. When you share your time with me, I feel like you fill the void so that the rage can’t flood in.”.

He releases your hand as he continues, “Do you feel empty again now?”.

“It’s not as noticeable, but if I pay it attention, I can still feel it.”, you immediately return to running the washcloth along the edge of his dressings, progressing down his chest.

You watch his chest rise and fall when he sighs, “Me too.”.

“Well maybe we can keep each other full until morning.”, you say it without thinking and flick your eyes up to meet his in time to notice a confliction of emotions run behind them.

He settles on one that is warm and flashes you a perfectly charming smile, “I’d like that”.

The image of him smiling in front of you is enough to make your heart stop.

You do not know how to respond, so you choose not to, in case you put your foot in your mouth. Thankfully, he also falls quiet, seemingly satisfied with the conversation.

By some grace of a miracle, you finish helping him bathe without making a fool of yourself or succumbing to the lusty thoughts that crept in occasionally. Though you can still feel nervous butterflies filling your chest, which you stubbornly try to push back down.

“All done.”, you announce with a cheery smile.

You gesture to his dust covered trousers, “You can put those with my laundry if you like, I’m sure the little D’s will take care of them. I’ll let you finish up and come back in later.”.

Satan looks at the laundry basket and then back to you and nods, so you slip out of the bathroom as casually as possible.

You are rooting through your cupboards, searching for a fresh set of pyjamas to change into, when Satan emerges from the bathroom shortly after you.

“Do you mind if I borrow a book from your shelves for the evening?”, his voice is calm and warm.

When you turn to greet him, located pyjamas triumphantly in hand, you feel anything but calm.

He is unabashedly stood in front of your bookshelf scanning over the titles, wearing nothing but boxers, with still damp hair, as if it were a perfectly normal everyday occurrence. Your pulse instantly quickens and your breath catches. You feel like it is an unfair twist of fate that he is so handsome without even trying.

When you don’t answer he turns to face you, his easy smile in place flawlessly, “It’s okay if not. I can visit the library to get something while you’re in the shower.”.

You shake your head more insistently than you mean to, “No. It’s fine. Please, help yourself. I’ll be back soon.”.

You escape into the bathroom quickly before he asks you anything else. You lean against the door to calm yourself after you close it behind you.

_‘Better make this a cold shower’._

When you return from the bathroom, freshened up and clad in a soft pair of black cotton pyjama shorts and matching tank top, Satan is resting on your bed leaning against the wall reading a book he had chosen.

“Which one did you pick?”, you ask quietly as you sit on the bed next to him glad for a distracting topic to indulge in.

He doesn’t speak or stop reading, instead turning the book towards you so that you can see the title for yourself: ‘Sharpe’s Company: Bernard Cornwell’.

You instantly smile. You remember being over the moon when you had found some of this book series on your shelves after you arrived. Barbatos had done an amazingly good job of collecting copies of books that you already owned, so that you wouldn’t feel home sick.

“I love these books. There’s a great TV adaptation too, maybe we can watch it together sometime if you enjoy the story.”, you gush about the book with bright eyes, which catches his attention.

He watches you for a moment, eyes locked onto yours as though checking for something.

Whatever it is he was searching for, he seems to find it, a smile spreads across his face and his eyes shine too, “We will see how the book goes. But I’m sure if you like it, it’ll be worth watching.”.

Satan closes the book, marking his page by inserting the paper cover between them.

Then he reaches past you to place it on your nightstand. You shrink back to avoid touching him as he moves, hoping to avoid any innocent contact setting off your imagination again.

“I’m curious. How did you override my spells on the pact today? They were very powerful.”, he moves back casually, his thigh presses against yours as he returns to sit with you.

“I didn’t know there were any spells. All I knew was that I could feel you pushing back against me.”, you lean your back on the wall and stare out into your room, nervously avoiding eye contact. “Solomon suggested I could use the link between us to find you, instead of calling you to me. I don’t know how it worked, but I could see the forest. So we came to find you.”.

The demon follows your lead and leans back to look out into the room, though he doesn’t pull his thigh away from you. “That was a very dangerous thing to do.”.

“Yeah. It was. But I was lashing out at people, we really had no choice. You know I threatened to stab Mammon?”, you sigh.

It is a surprise to hear the man beside you chuckle, “You’re not the first person to do that to him.”.

His words draw a sulky huff from you, “Yes, but I don’t want to hurt him, unlike you lot.”.

Placing his hand on his chest Satan feigns offence, and changes the subject back again, “Anyway, can you explain why it felt like _Déjà vu_ when you told me you weren’t in the mood for games?”.

“If I understood what Solomon told me correctly, I spoke to your subconscious through the pact before we found you. I didn’t recognise the sound of the voice, but it felt like you somehow.”, you explain slowly, feeling like what you were saying probably made zero sense to other people.

He contemplates your explanation for a while before responding, “I don’t remember speaking with you. I think I felt like you were there for a moment though. So when you did appear, I wasn’t sure I was really looking at you.”.

He places his hand on your thigh and squeezes you gently but doesn’t add anything more.

The two of you fall into silence for a while, but you feel uncomfortable with a question itching to get out, “Why did this happen in the first place? What made you lose your grip?”.

Satan turns his head to look at you with a sigh. His eyes are warm, and his expression is soft. “I was worried about you. I was angry that I couldn’t prevent what happened to you. Though, I am grateful that Asmo acted so swiftly.”.

You frown, “Sometimes bad things just happen, and we have to do what we can in the moment. I do not understand why you all seem to think that you always need to be there to protect me. No one can be everywhere all of the time.”

He turns away as a scowl crosses his features, “You have been placed under our protection by Diavolo. The whole of the Devildom knows that you are in our charge. One of those demons was a wrath demon… That means one of my own directly ignored the protective status that you have. Wrath demons are my ring to control, and he had the gall to challenge my rule by using you as a tool. It is insulting at best.”.

His hand squeezes you again, this time with a possessive energy.

You blink a few times, stunned by his open explanation. It is easy to forget that the brothers are the top of their own sins. Naturally as avatars, they would hold control over that sin’s expression in other demons. However, this is something that has not occurred to you until now.

“Do you think this is your fault because you didn’t have control of him?”, you ask quietly. You feel sad that he could be harbouring guilt over something that he could not have been expected to predict.

The man beside you sighs as he turns back to you, “Not exactly. Though it does feel partly my responsibility to correct. The fact that you were hurt in the ordeal just makes matters worse.”.

He lifts a hand to cup the side of your face and runs his thumb along your cheek, “I can not explain how terrifying it was to realise I could have hurt you too. I don’t know how to process what happens when you are with me, but I do know that you always seem to pull me away from the darkest of the void.”.

You aren’t entirely sure what he means. Although after today, having felt how debilitating it can be to keep a constant reign on his temper for yourself… you can understand why anyone who can help him do that, simply by being present, is precious to him. Worth protecting, in his eyes.

You lean your head forward touching your foreheads together, “If it helps when I’m here, then you need to learn not to push me away when it gets bad for you.”.

Satan lets out a disgruntled huff and you chuckle at him.

“Don’t let pride get in the way of seeking comfort… or I will start to call you Lucifer II.”, you poke his chest as you tease.

His response is to wrap his arm around your waist and pull you down to the mattress, hard enough to cause the two of you to bounce. “You’re lucky that I like you. I would maim anyone else for merely thinking of such a nickname.”.

“My point still stands”, you poke your tongue out at him.

He huffs again and pulls you into him to snuggle you against his side.

Then he tugs the blankets up over you both, he even tucks it in around your shoulders before kissing the top of your head lightly, “We have both had enough exertion for one day. And, I have had enough talking about how I feel to last a century. So I suggest we both get some sleep… I will take the privilege of getting to wake up next to you in the morning, as payment for your indiscretion with that ludicrous nickname.”

You want to argue with the statement, but you also know that he has a valid point. So, you quietly nuzzle your face to the crook of his neck.

His warmth is comforting, and you must admit that you feel much less empty than before.

You can only hope that he feels the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did a thing....I made a twitter account! （・□・；）  
> If you're interested in my ramblings you can come and say hello there. It'll be nice to make some friends interested in my roller coaster writing =^.^=  
> @KittyFiendish


	34. Something feels weird in your chest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC makes a point of tending to Satan's wounds, even if he doesn't fully understand why. Lucifer makes it known that he is already aware of the goings on yesterday, and Asmo has a mellow-dramatic melt down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No trigger warnings in this one as far as I can tell. If you spot any, let me know.

When you wake in the morning, you are snuggled closely to Satan’s side with your head resting on his chest. Your legs are tangled together, one of his arms is curled protectively around your back and his other is softly resting across his chest.

The demon nestled in your bed looks peaceful. His hair is lightly tousled, and his usual stoic expression is melted away in the softness of sleep. He looks so relaxed that you are tempted to cradle his face, but you resist the urge and carefully slip yourself out of the bed instead.

You want to let him rest as much as possible, your own muscles feel tired and you have a mild headache, so you can only imagine how terrible he must be feeling.

You collect a fresh uniform from the cupboard for your day ahead, taking care not to allow the door to click as you close it gently, before you pad into the bathroom to get ready.

You drag your hair up into a messy bun. After finishing you splash cool water on your face, shivering as it hits your skin. You relish it, despite the shiver, it helps to shake away any remaining sleepiness.

You wash and moisturise your face, and are halfway through cleaning your teeth, when a loud music bursts into life inside your bedroom.

_‘Shit I left my alarm set.’_

Feeling guilty for forgetting about the alarm, you race back into the bedroom to sweep up your D.D.D. from the nightstand, in order to silence it. With your toothbrush still held between your teeth and wet hands, you mash your fingers against the screen cursing it as it takes a few moments for the device to register you pressing the ‘stop’ button.

There is a faint groan from the bed beside you, before Satan grumbles something that you can’t hear properly.

He hides his eyes under the crook of his elbow to shield them from the light in the room as he wakes. It seems your earlier efforts to allow him to rest had been wasted.

He waves his other hand towards you and mumbles sleepily, “What was that awful sound?”.

You’re not sure if you should feel offended that he thinks your alarm tone is awful when it’s one of your favourite songs. You open your mouth to respond, releasing the toothbrush, which you had forgotten about. Mercifully you manage to catch it before it drops to the floor or hits your clothes.

It only serves to remind you that your mouth is full of toothpaste and you can’t speak properly anyway.

After a moment of silence, the demon rolls towards you and heavily drags his arm away from his face, “Cat got your tongue this morning?”.

Then he notices the toothbrush which you wave with a shrug.

“Oh”, he rubs his face before sitting up, his expression betraying his still half-asleep state. “What time is it?”.

You turn your D.D.D. screen towards him and hold it forward for him to read.

Satan huffs when he sees that it is now only an hour before breakfast time, but he nods at you before making his way to the edge of the bed. You catch the wince on his face when his injured arm brushes against the bed post as he moves.

You make an ‘uh-ah’ sound and hold your hands out in front of him in a ‘stop’ motion. He sits upright on the edge of the bed anyway, but then does not move any further as he watches you curiously.

You use the messenger app to write “Stay here”.

When you show him the screen, he raises a brow at you but slowly agrees, “Alright”.

You dash off to the bathroom once you are satisfied that he will wait for you. You hastily finish cleaning your teeth and return to him, carrying an already dampened wash cloth.

On your way past the table you plunder the medical supplies bag that you had left there last night. Retrieving a fresh bandage and a dressing pad.

“That is not necessary, we demons heal a lot quicker than humans. I will be fine.”, Satan protests when he notices your intention.

You glare at him, “I saw that branch pierce your arm yesterday, and I saw you wince this morning… I don’t care what you say, I’m tending that wound.”

Satan chuckles as you sit next to him on the bed. “Only that one?”, he teases.

“That depends on what I find when I take off the dressings. Now, give me your arm.”, you hold your hand out in front of him expectantly.

He hesitates with an expression you don’t recall seeing on him before, then schools his features into a polite smile and lifts his arm for you.

He is right about their healing, many of the small scrapes that had been on his back and chest are already gone. Bruising has now developed in some places where the cuts were deep enough to remain this morning, although they also seem to be in much better condition than last night.

You unwrap the bandages carefully, slowly unveiling the skin beneath.

As you suspected the laceration is still long and deep. You admit that it does look a lot better, but it is still weeping, so you carefully clean it with the washcloth.

To your surprise, Satan doesn’t make any attempt to complain or pull his arm away from you. He doesn’t even flinch, although his face is a flat stony expression that you know means that he is working on controlling himself. You’re sure it must still be painful even for a demon, at the very least it must sting.

Green eyes watch you patiently while you clean and redress the wound.

When you finish and move onto the dressing on his shoulder his expression softens, “This is strange. Nobody does this for us. Mammon used to care for me like this when I was small, but that was so long ago now.”.

He lifts his arm to allow you to unfurl the dressing that passes around his side to his back.

He leans forward a little to make it easier for you and tilts his head curiously, “Why do you care for others so avidly like this?”.

You shrug, but a gentle smile crosses your face as you respond, “It’s a compulsion. I’ve always felt the need to help others as much as I can.”.

The blonde rubbed his chin while he thought for a moment, “A compulsion? You know, we could say that about our sins. The way they drive us… It’s like a craving that needs to be itched.”.

The fact he just compared your caring nature to a sin unnerves you a little, especially because it feels like it’s true.

After you carried his sin around yesterday, you can certainly agree that when you let it lash out, it felt soothed for a while afterwards. You can see the similarities between it and your caring nature… perhaps caring is a virtue, and you guess that virtue and sin are opposite sides of the same coin.

You nod slowly, “Yesterday, your wrath felt… impulsive?”, you squint as your own thought turns into a question rather than a statement.

“Yes. I remember it being that way in the beginning. Acting out was automatic back then, before I learnt to understand it.”, he conceded with a nod.

While you are talking you successfully remove the dressing, the gash across the front of his shoulder looks to be in much better condition than his arm. It has formed a nice seal, so you settle for simply cleaning away the dried blood around it, taking care not to disturb the clotting that has formed.

You know demons are different to humans, but none the less, you assume that this is a good thing and should not be removed.

You tap his shoulder, “This looks good, I don’t think it needs a new dressing.”.

Satan cranes his neck back to look down at his own shoulder awkwardly, “I agree. It looks like it’ll be healed by tomorrow.”.

There is a beep from your D.D.D. so you stand with a sigh to check on it.

* * *

**Lucifer:** Good Morning.

 **Lucifer:** I hope that you are in good health and well rested this morning.

* * *

You frown at the screen.

“What is it?”, Satan asks simply in response to your expression.

You show him the screen and he laughs, “It seems like someone is finally over his tantrum.”.

You shove his chest playfully, “Says the man who was destroying half a forest yesterday.”

“Point taken.”, he laughs again, and shuffles back on the bed to lean against the wall in amusement.

You poke your tongue out at him and return your attention to the device in your hand, “I wonder what he wants.”.

* * *

**MC:** Morning.

 **MC:** I slept okay.

 **Lucifer:** Rather curt today, aren’t you?

 **MC:** ~~Are you surprised after how you spoke to me?~~ Perhaps.

* * *

You delete your first response, feeling like it will only cause another argument with the first born and rephrase before you send it.

* * *

**Lucifer:** I hear that you cleaned up after one of my brothers messes last night.

* * *

_‘Ah… there it is.’_

He knows about Satan and is no doubt about to chew you out for your behaviour.

* * *

**Lucifer:** I would like to remind you that demons are extremely dangerous. Especially us.

 **Lucifer:** You are aware that what you did could have gotten you killed I assume?

 **Lucifer:** While I appreciate that you took an escort, allowing Solomon to intervene was reckless.

 **Lucifer:** Both of you endangered the exchange program.

* * *

Your shoulders drop and a heavy sigh escapes you.

There is a pause in the messages, so you take the time to show them to Satan, who has been watching you with interest.

“Of course…The exchange program. Ugh”, the blonde rolls his eyes as you take back your device.

Satan’s D.D.D. starts to beep away too.

He walks to the table to collect it and when he reads the messages he frowns. “Looks as though he is distracting himself with scolding me, while he thinks up a punishment for you.”.

You rub your hand down your face and sigh again.

You knew there would of course be repercussions, but it’s still early in the morning, and the gaping hole from the missing heat is still making you feel irritable. You wonder if you will be able to put off whatever it is that Lucifer thinks up.

“Well, I have been ordered to stay home from R.A.D. today. I am to get the mess in my room cleaned up, and all damaged items replaced before dinner, as he doesn’t want me influencing you further.”, Satan declares. He chuckles as he places his hand on his hip, lending him an air of mirth.

You tilt your head at him, “Influencing? Really?”.

His blonde hair falls into his face as he nods, “Of course, I am distracting you from your work.”.

Then he hums and puts his hand to his chin as he thinks, a devilish grin spreads across his features slowly, “Perhaps I should influence you some more? How about we arrange the dance class that I promised you?”.

With all the chaos of the last few days you had completely forgotten about the dance lessons.

A wide smile forms on your face and your eyes twinkle as you respond, “Since today is probably a bad time, and a curfew restricts our time together, how about on Sunday?”.

“Hmm… I’d hoped to spend time with you sooner. But, I like the idea. We can make a day of it.”, He smiled back at you. “For now though, You should make sure you aren’t late for breakfast today. I’ll see you this evening.”.

Without warning he steps forward to wrap his arms around you.

You freeze in place, not because you do not welcome the embrace, but because it takes you by surprise. You know the avatar of wrath isn’t known for being the touchy feely type.

It doesn’t take you long to regain your composure and embrace him back though.

With your head nestled against his chest he whispers above your head, “Thank you for allowing me to stay last night. You helped to keep away the darkness and I will recover well thanks to your help.”.

Satan releases you slowly and takes his leave.

You watch him go with a contented sigh. You already feel excited about dancing with him again, it had left you in such a great mood last time, and helped you sleep well too.

You are pulled out of your wistful Cinderella daydream by the sound of your D.D.D.

* * *

**Lucifer:** Thank you.

 **Lucifer:** For bringing him home safely, while I could not.

* * *

Your breath hitches as you take in the writing on your device. You feel your heart still for a moment, in anticipation of the message being retracted.

_‘This is a joke, right? Someone has his phone.’_

Then more notifications announce the arrival of another message.

* * *

**Lucifer:** Anyway, I will be missing breakfast again this morning. I am already at R.A.D.

 **Lucifer:** Please ensure my other idiot brothers make it in on time today.

* * *

You can’t help but think how typical it is of him, to have had an entirely one-sided conversation with you yet again.

Something in your chest feels weird, you honestly aren’t sure if you’re more relieved that there doesn’t seem to be a punishment lined up, or that he is finally talking to you again.

The second option squeezes at your heart a little. You don’t like to acknowledge it, but you missed him these last few days.

Breakfast was uneventful. Afterwards, Beel inserted himself into your daily walk to the academy as he had yesterday.

Mammon complained that Beel doesn’t trust his ability to keep you safe, but ultimately gave in to the presence of his brother because he felt sorry for him having missed your forest excursion.

Morning classes passed by smoothly. You felt an odd sense of peace, knowing that although your favourite blonde is missing, he is safely at home.

At lunch time you join Asmo and Solomon at a corner table in the cafeteria.

You are quite happily minding your own business, sipping on a bright blue smoothie that Asmo had recommended. A smoothie which you are one hundred percent certain, you do not want to know the ingredients of.

The avatar of lust turns his attention to you, “Darling, after yesterday how did you sleep?”.

You smile cheerily, “Oddly… very well. I guess the whole thing made me more tired than I thought.”.

“Oh?”, he tilts his head and looks into your eyes curiously.

You laugh at him and sit back in your seat, “Stop trying to read me Asmo. You know your powers don’t work on me. Now, spit it out… what do you want to know?”.

He waved his hand feigning disinterest, “I just wondered how sharing a bed with my brother went that’s all. I’d like to know that he looked after my adorable human.”.

“I don’t want to know how you know that he stayed with me.”, you frown at him.

He swishes his hair as he turns back to you excitedly, “Ooohhh, see! I knew that you would!”.

“So you guessed?”, you huff back at him.

Asmo’s smile lit up when he saw your half sulky expression, “Come on love… I can tell when these things will happen. Now, I want ALL of the details!”.

He rested his elbows on the table and in turn rested his chin on his hands, gazing at you intently. It reminded you of a small child waiting to hear a fairy tale.

“There isn’t much to tell. I helped him clean up, we talked, we went to sleep.”, you shrug. “Oh, and I lent him a book.”.

His face soured, “WHAT!?”.

Asmo waved his hand dramatically, pushing Solomon’s shoulder and drawing the sorcerer’s attention to the two of you. “Oh no darling, I can’t even…. Are you serious? You mean to tell me that I spent all night at purgatory hall listening to Luke’s incessant yapping, **and** sacrificed my night time skin regime… and… and… NOTHING **FUN** HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU!?”.

You flush when a few random students turn to look at his dramatics.

You try hard to shrink back in your seat using the smoothie as a shield.

“Asmo, please… could you not do this here? How was something supposed to happen at such a sensitive time anyway?”, you speak in a hushed tone trying to avoid the stares of demons nearby.

He leaned back in his own seat and folded his arms in a sulk, “I swear to Diavolo that you had better stop cockblocking yourself or I’m going to start locking you in rooms with people. The tension is killing me.”.

Your eyes dart back and forth between the two men at your table, “I’d rather not talk about you trying to set me up with your brothers in front of people.”.

“Oh… don’t worry, I already know about it. Asmo tells me everything because he can’t stop himself.”, Solomon shrugs nonchalantly at you.

Asmo pouts, “I can stop myself if I want to.”.

You do not believe him.

The demon practically uses gossip like oxygen, you should have known that he would have talked to Solomon about these things.

He points at you, his voice becoming whiny, “You had a perfect opportunity. You **saved** him yesterday after all… don’t human’s think that is romantic?”.

“More like white knight syndrome.”, you retort.

Solomon chuckles, “She has a point. Besides, Satan isn’t the kind to pounce on unsuspecting ladies like you are.”.

The demon pouts again, “You make it sound like I thought she was my prey. How unsavoury.”.

Now it is your turn to laugh, “What if I tell you we have a dance lesson planned together soon… would that make you happy?”.

Asmo brightens immediately, he takes your hand in his and kisses the back of it gently, “It helps.”

He hums happily. “I guess it gives me more time to play with you in the meantime.”.

You are sure that you are a shade somewhere between beetroot and crimson right now and can feel the blush creeping down your neck too.

“Okay, that’s enough. New topic.”, you fluster.

Asmo winks at you, “As you wish.”.


	35. The second born sticks around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mammon decides that his boredom means MC get's the privilege of spending time with him. MC doesn't mind the comfort, especially when Lucifer finally reappears, and things begin to return to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warning tags needed for this one as far as I know, please let me know if you spot any I have missed.

You’re thankful that Asmo kept his word, after lunch he made no more mentions about any of your potential sexual exploits, or otherwise.

Lucifer missed dinner with the family, as he was still at R.A.D. catching up with work he missed the day before due to his headache.

_‘Serves him right for getting so drunk.’_

It was nice to see Satan at the table, presented in his usual immaculate gentleman’s casual attire, and joining in conversation with his unique astuteness. The twins used the time together with you all to ask questions about the day before, and you were grateful that after they were filled in, they remained calm and didn’t berate your choices.

Though Belphie did make comment that he feels you’re going to give them all heart attacks before the end of the year.

_‘Kind of rich coming from him really.’_

After dinner you returned to your room feeling a lot lighter than this morning. Eating together as a family is a small thing, but it helps to warm your heart.

You have barely made a start on this week’s homework assignments when your door handle rustles and Mammon breezes into your room, “Oi, Oi… what are ya up to? The Great Mammon has decided ya can have his company this evening. Gotta keep ya out of trouble somehow.”.

You turn to watch him walk across the room and sit on one of the chairs near to your desk. You pick up your nearest textbook and wave it at him, “I have homework to catch up on. Didn’t you get any this week?”.

His bright smile turns into a frown, “Pfft, now ya sound like Lucifer.”.

“I’ll assume that means you’re ignoring your homework.”, you raise a brow at him after returning your book to the desktop.

He shuffles and mutters his response, “Hey, I ain’t ignoring it. I got plenty of time to finish it later in the week.”.

The demon looks hesitant as his eyes meet yours, “Come on, watch some movies with me today. I’m bored. Besides, I ain’t forgiven you for letting Solomon lock me up behind his dumb wall. Stupid humans, you owe me some time.”. His voice cleared and became more confident as he spoke.

“Stop calling me a stupid human. You asked me to take you next time, and I did.”, you lean forward to close the space between you and wrap your arms around his shoulders. “I’m sorry you feel like we shut you out, but I needed to do that alone. I can’t explain why. It was instinct.”.

He refuses to return your hold, but his voice is soft when he replies, “I s’pose ya did let me save ya once too.”.

Mammon heaves in a breath and prods your ribs, the action makes you jump away, and a giggle escapes you.

He straightens his back and puts his hands on his hips with resolve, “But ya did spend the whole day goin’ on about Satan. More than a day. That ain’t fair… So, I reckon you owe me. But, since ya said sorry, I might even let ya choose the movie.”.

You sigh, he isn’t going to give up on this and you know it.

Mammon has a big and loud personality; you are certain that he could badger you into doing just about anything. Though, you concede that some down time with him might do you some good after all the stress from the last few days.

“Just this once… and, you’re going to do your homework with me tomorrow okay?”, your answer seems to surprise him.

Perhaps he had thought that convincing you to slack off with him would be harder.

Little gold flecks sparkle across his blue eyes as he jumps up from the chair, “Ha! now you want to spend **two** evenings with the great Mammon! How could you not want to?”.

The demon is turning on your TV and rummaging through your stack of DVDs before you can respond. You think of pointing out his false bravado but decide that he looks cute when he is this excited, so you let him continue uninterrupted. Instead, you settle onto your bed, pulling up your pillows to comfortably lean against the wall. You also pull up a second pillow for him.

He turns to you with three cases in his hands, “Which one do ya want?”.

You don’t even look at the titles, “I don’t really need to choose, why don’t you go for whichever you feel like?”.

Two very odd romance comedies later, Mammon is laying half across your lap and your hand has gravitated to softly play with his hair. He sighs contently as the credits begin to roll up the screen, the sound pulls your attention down to his face.

He looks as though there is no place he would rather be, you must admit that the relaxed look suits him. He is normally so on guard that he can come off as awkward. This change in him tugs a sweet smile onto your face as you watch his expression.

“Hey. What are ya staring for? Ya could give a guy a complex ya know?”, he grumbles at you and a light blush dusts his cheeks.

He quickly gets up to turn off the TV in an effort to stop you from noticing it.

You sigh as the heat of him beside you fades away after he stands, “Maybe I was just feeling happy? You’re nice when it’s just the two of us.”. The words slip from your mouth unfiltered and you instantly regret it.

“What? I’m not nice normally?”, he complains as he turns back from the TV.

You feel bad about it, but you can’t stop a laugh creeping out from your chest, “When you’re not calling me a stupid human… yes, you are. But you’re just more confident when it’s only us. You don’t need to be worried about your brothers being cruel and you relax. I like it.”.

The demon frowns at you, “I don’t worry about that stuff. What are ya talking about?”.

You tut and shake your head, “Never mind. Just hurry up and get ready for bed. I expect cwtches from my first man tonight.”.

“Of course ya do.”, Mammon’s expression brightens again. “You’ll be the safest human in all three realms with me holdin’ ya at night.”.

You reward him with a bright smile which he returns, before you hop off the bed and retreat to the bathroom to get changed into your favourite soft cotton nightdress. You like that there is no worry about your appearance around Mammon.

If there is one thing you can say for certain, it’s that he has never complained about your comfort clothes. He doesn’t care how you present yourself, so long as you share your time with him. You’re also pretty confident in the thought that the only reason Asmo chose this same nightdress for you on Friday, is because he wanted you to feel homely after the incident at the fall, he absolutely would have complained about how plain it is at any other time.

When you return, the second born makes a point of pulling you close to him as the two of you settle into bed for the night. You say very little to each other, as you drift to sleep with your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

When you wake, the snowy haired demon has already slipped out of your room, but not without sending you a message to reassure you that he will return in time to escort you to breakfast.

As promised, he crashes through your door with ten minutes to spare before you are expected at the breakfast table.

You are not a morning person, and right now you think that he has far too much exuberance for this time of day.

“Good morning to my favourite human!”, his grin is practically touching his eyes, and you can see the glimmer of gold floating around in that sea of blue.

He is always full of energy, but this extra bubbly display makes you suspicious, “Favourite? What are you hoping I will do for you?”.

He gawps at you for a moment, “Nothin’. I do have good news though!”.

His smile returns and he waves his hands excitedly, “I only went and got ya **the** most popular band on Devilgram to play at the prom.”.

Mammon squeezes your shoulders enthusiastically as he ushers you out of the door towards the dining room.

“That’s awesome! Are they going to do the whole evening or is there more planned?”, you ask with genuine interest. You haven’t had a chance to really talk to him and Levi about the entertainment plans yet.

He shines his smile at you again.

You feel like it’s devastatingly unfair that everyone living here has such attractive smiles, you wryly consider that all of these smiles could easily pull you into trouble.

As they have done in the past, actually. You’ve definitely had your fair share of Mammon’s schemes and Satan and Belphie’s pranks. It’s easy to daydream about the twinkling eyes that normally accompany those beautiful expressions too.

The second born waves his hand in front of your face, “Are ya listin’?”.

You snap out of your thoughts and shake your head, “I’m sorry. I’m still tired. What did you say?”.

“The band is doing the later half of the evening. Levi is working with them on some digital stuff I don’t understand. But basically, they reckon they will use his computers to play a set list during dinner, before they go live.”, Mammon explains cheerily, undeterred by the need to repeat himself.

He holds the door open for you to enter the dining room in front of him and you continue talking as you both approach the table, “That sounds like a really good plan. Are the band happy to be featured on the banners?”.

“I don’t see why not. It’s free advertising for ‘em right?”, he shrugs as he takes his seat.

You follow closely behind to settle into your own seat. Quickly reaching for coffee to fill your cup and hopefully shake you out of your sleepy daydreaming.

“Oohh is this Prom plans?”, Asmo’s voice lilts across the table to you both.

You nod your head as you reach for some toast, “Ah huh. Discussing the entertainment. Sounds like Mammon and Levi have a solid plan.”.

Levi looks up from the games console that he had brought to the table with him as usual, “Wooaahh, yeah! You should see the band he found! They are no Secure Frenzy, but it’s going to be so EPIC! They already called me to talk about their DJ set.”.

“Wait, wait… Are you saying **Mammon** took the lead on this? For real?”, Belphie’s confused frown somehow looks endearing, even if you do feel like his question is rude.

Mammon’s face drops for a second, but he quickly replaces his disappointed expression with a scowl. He has no need to defend himself though as Levi points out, “Of course he did. I’m not about to go and meet face to face with a bunch of normies to interview bands, am I?”.

You can’t resist the urge to support the second born and squeeze his hand gently under the table, bringing it to rest on your thigh. “It’s not unusual for Mammon to socialise with the big names featured in Majolish. Besides, we already knew he was going to speak to bands, we discussed it with Asmo at breakfast last Friday.”.

The demon beside you turns a soft smile in your direction, and he quietly squeezes your hand back.

Asmo starts to nod, “Oh yes, that’s right. We were talking about using his contacts at The Fall to hire a band. I remember”.

“Am I still asleep?”, Belphie gripes in response, looking very much out of sorts.

There is a cough at the far end of the table which draws everyone’s attention to Lucifer.

You had honestly not even had a chance to notice his presence this morning, since Mammon had been so animated, and the conversation rolled on so quickly once you both took your seats.

The first born looks tired and a nagging wave of concern rises to your throat when he locks eyes with you. His eyes are dark, and you can’t help but feel there is more to that than a day with a hangover.

“I think it makes sense for Mammon and Levi to have divided the work the way they have. Somehow, they seem to have found each other’s strengths... Amazingly.”, Lucifer adds his thoughts as crisply as usual. He takes a sip of his coffee before continuing, “It appears that MC has worked her magic on you all again.”.

“Magic indeed.”, Satan’s comment catches you by surprise and you find yourself staring at him, as he leans forward to look down the table at his brother seated next to you. “When you get a minute, forward me the contact details for the band, so that we can get their advertisement information for our banners.”.

Mammon nods and goes back to his breakfast, he does not take his hand away from yours though.

The conversation dies off and the brothers go about their breakfast as normal.

You eat slowly, conscious of how odd that whole exchange had been.

The odd gut feeling isn’t helped at all by the fact that Lucifer carefully watches you for the rest of the meal without speaking to you at all. It makes you feel uneasy that he had pointed out your ‘magic’ as a reasoning to the brothers’ behaviour, you’re certain that his meaning for that is not as obvious as it seems.

It occurs to you that he appears to be out manoeuvring you once again, and you weren’t even aware that you are back on his chess board.

Your day at R.A.D. went by uneventfully and the next two days ticked along in much the same way.

Lucifer attended dinners and conversed with the group as usual. However, he made no effort to speak to you directly. He also made no contact with you outside of those times.

Mammon had come to your room as promised to work through his homework with you.

He also found an excuse to come back and spend the night with you last night. You get the feeling that he is feeling needy lately, and you cant decide if it’s due to his barriers finally fizzling away around you, or because the danger you’d been in over the last few days has shaken him.

Still, the cwtches at night are nice, and at least in private he is calling you stupid less.

All of the brothers are sharing with you more and more aspects of their prom plans, and you start to believe that things are returning to normal for you all. Well, as normal as it has ever been.

So much so that you aren’t surprised when a demand from Lucifer to attend another meeting appears on your D.D.D. during your lunch break on Friday.

* * *

**House of Lamentation (New)(8)**

**Lucifer:** Meeting to discuss Prom progress today immediately after R.A.D. has finished.

 **Lucifer:** I expect everyone to return home immediately after last period and meet in the common room.

 **Leviathan:** Is this going to take long? I have a raid planned.

 **Asmodeus:** I have an appointment. Can’t we just update each other here?

 **Beelzebub:** We have finished the menu.

 **MC:** That’s great news, can I see it?

 **Beelzebub:** Belphie has it. I’ll make sure he brings it later for you.

 **Satan:** We have also finalised the design for the banners and the main hall decorations.

 **Lucifer:** The meeting is not negotiable.

 **Lucifer:** I am also busy this evening, we will be finished before dinner.


	36. Another Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beel meets MC after class and they walk home together with Satan. When they arrive for their next Prom meeting the other brothers are already there, and while some of them are seemingly incapable of not being catty to each other - Levi finally shows some of his passion about the Prom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No trigger warnings for this one as far as I can see - If anyone spots any please let me know and I will update.

You’re clearing your desk and packing your books into your bag, as other students filter out of the classroom at the end of your last class, when a familiar face pops into the doorway.

You’re greeted by a bright smile as Beel easily pushes through the crowd in the opposite direction to everybody else exiting the room.

His ginger hair can be seen easily as he towers over a lot of other students while he makes his way to you.

“How was your day?”, you ask him happily when he arrives at the end of your desk.

“It was good. I found a spare hamburger at the bottom of my bag that I forgot I had bought this morning.”, the wistful look in his eyes as he answers suggests that he is probably already ordering more of those in his head for tomorrow.

You swing your bag over your shoulder and straighten up ready to leave.

He takes your cue and steps aside to allow you to slide out from the desks. When you reach the end of the bench, he absentmindedly offers you his hand to help you up.

You’re normally too stubborn to accept these kinds of gestures, but Beel is so sweet to you, you don’t think you’d ever be able to find it in you to refuse him. So, you place your hand in his quickly and allow him to easily tug you to your feet.

The demon is quickly drawn out of his burger related daydreams though, when he doesn’t release you quick enough and you are tugged into his side. Your chest bumps into him unceremoniously and he immediately blushes awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. I guess I forget how light you are sometimes.”, he glances at you apologetically.

You look up at him with a soft smile and your chest still pressing into his side as he holds your hand in front of him, “It’s no problem. Don’t worry, no harm done.”

His blush fades as he smiles back down at you happily.

“Although… you are going to have to let me go if we are going to walk home.”, you add quietly when he shows no sign of moving.

He gawps at you and immediately releases your hand, “Yes. Sorry.”.

Beel’s blush returns as he looks away from you sheepishly.

He looks so utterly adorable, and you don’t know what comes over you, but you can’t resist lifting yourself onto your tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

That adorable blush deepens ten-fold and he snaps his head back to face you as soon as you pull your lips away.

“What was that for?”, he whispers.

You’re giggling before you can think to stop yourself. You don’t think it makes a lot of sense to tell one of the largest and strongest beings that you have ever met, that they just got graced with a kiss because you think they are adorable.

You don’t know what to say instead, so you quickly tilt your head to chastely place a kiss on his other cheek, before plopping yourself back down onto your heels. You swipe his hand back up in yours and tug him from the room, “Come on. We are going to be late for our meeting. We had better get home.”.

You are well aware that this gentle giant of a demon is capable not only of resisting you, but actively lifting you off the ground to return you to face him, so when he allows you to pull him along so easily it causes you to look back and check on him.

Beel has an amused expression on his face, but willingly allows you to lead the way with no further questions.

Though he does gently squeeze your hand and tug you back to him, to prevent you getting swept up by a crowd at the intersection of the stairs.

“Careful, I don’t want you to get stomped on.”, he adds his explanation smoothly, near to your ear.

Your back knocks gently against his chest and you flush as the action of him wrapping his arms down over your shoulders, and around your ribs, causes a few students to double take on their way past.

Your companion hugs you tightly for a moment and then sighs when the crowd dissipates, he feels he no longer has an excuse to hold you there. Beel unravels himself from you and gestures for you to take the lead again while he takes your hand in his once more.

You reward him with smiling eyes and quickly begin to tug him along again. You don’t say anything, you don’t feel the need to, neither does Beel.

When the two of you reach the main entrance, he steps forward to hold the door open for you and you can’t resist doing a pretend curtsey, before slipping through the gap beneath his arm. “Thank you.”, you chirp as he follows behind you.

Outside, the two of you find Satan approaching from another path to the gates. He smiles and inclines his head to you, “On your way back for the Prom meeting I see. Would you mind if I join you?”

“Do you have any food?”, Beel’s question is lightning quick and you giggle when Satan raises a brow.

“Is that a requirement to walking home with you now?”, the blonde replies dryly.

As he speaks, you are already opening your bag to find some candy that you keep for emergencies. After the custard incident, you’d rather keep the avatar of gluttony satiated.

Beel shrugs and watches you with a quizzical expression, “No. I’m just hungry.”.

The ginger demon’s stomach rumbles its agreement as though the thought to voice it has just occurred to the organ too.

The candy is not in the pocket of your bag that you thought it would be, so you quickly unzip another… and then another… then resort to pulling out some books before you finally find them fallen out of their packet at the bottom of the main section.

By now both men are watching you curiously and are startled when you thrust your hand towards them with a fist full of candy, “Ah-HA!”.

When you turn your hand over and open your palm to reveal the neatly hand wrapped little sweets, Beel’s eyes immediately brighten. “Are those Barbatos’s sweets?”.

You nod eagerly, “Yep, I saved them for you, just in case we needed them. I mean… they wont keep you full for long, but at least they have a lot of sugar. They should see you through until we get back to the house.”.

You drop the treats into his hand as Satan watches you quietly, with a small quirk to the corner of his mouth.

Beel accepts the gift with a beaming smile, but fishes two candies out from the bunch and hands them back to you.

“Belphie really likes these, can you save them for him?”, violet eyes sparkle with a grin as he answers the unasked query written in your confused expression. Then he wastes no time deftly unwrapping two of the candies at once and popping them into his mouth.

As the three of you turn to exit the grounds of R.A.D. to make your way home, Satan catches your attention, “I don’t know why you indulge my brother’s sins. You shouldn’t encourage them.”.

You raise a brow at him, “Everything is fine in moderation. That is easier to manage than abstinence. Besides, I like to see all of you happy.”.

A look of surprise crosses the thoughtful fourth born’s face, but he doesn’t respond, choosing instead to mull over the idea.

The remainder of the walk home went by with gentle conversation about the day’s classes and any remaining homework that each of you had to complete over the weekend.

Satan offered to help you catch up on your research for Devildom history and you accepted gratefully, the two of you agreed to add it onto your plans for Sunday.

Beel lamented that he would be busy with extra training in the next couple of days, since there are some important games coming up for his Fangol team. He’s not likely to be able to spend much time at home this weekend, and the thought makes you feel oddly sad.

When you get into the house Levi is making his way to the common room already, he joins you en route to this evening’s meeting. Greeting you all with a frustrated expression, he falls into step beside you, “I already have so much anime to catch up on, and now I have to leave it on record for this dumb meeting.”.

You shrug at him, “At least once the meeting is finished you know you have the whole weekend to catch up?”.

Your suggestion does little to lift his spirits, but he does fish his D.D.D. from his pocket.

After a few taps on the screen he shows it to you, it’s full of pictures of DJ disco sets complete with multi-coloured lighting systems. “We’ve been talking to the band about these things… they say they are a party requirement for you human normies. I will order some from Akuzon.”.

You can’t help but laugh, there are so many different designs on the screen, all as cheesy as you would expect for a deck and disco lights. You acknowledge though that you don’t think you’ve been to a single event without them in some variation, so you try to subdue your laughter and nod at him.

“Yeah, that’s right. I hadn’t thought about it, but we really do use them at most parties. Don’t you have anything like this?”, your reaction makes him frown.

Levi tuts at you, but it’s Satan that answers the question, “Club lights are powered with magic. Didn’t you see them at the Fall?”.

Thinking back, it did seem like a lot of those strobe beams originated from nowhere, you hadn’t paid much attention at the time because it had looked so similar to clubs at home.

You respond thoughtfully, “I guess I didn’t think about how they worked. Maybe we could use a combination of the two things for the prom?”.

Beel opens and holds the door to the common room allowing the rest of you to pass him into the room.

You are the last one through the door and you thank him with a smile as Satan responds from further inside the room, “I don’t see why not. Maybe Solomon could help Levi put some enchantments on those things.”.

Lucifer’s voice startles you when he pitches in from his seat across the room, “I’m glad you already have them on topic MC. The meeting will be more efficient now.”.

He is sat in his usual chair, with his legs crossed and his head resting against his knuckles, while his elbow rests on the arm of the furniture.

He’s dressed in his trademark immaculately presented attire, though no different to any other day, the image of him there so poised has your heart trying to jump up through your throat.

_‘Fuck. He’s so handsome.’_

It’s the first time he has spoken to you directly in days.

It makes you catch your breath and you find yourself staring at him, watching his chest rise and fall in a natural steady rhythm that is telling of his calm demeanour being at total odds to your own.

_‘Have I missed him saying my name?’_

Your thought only serves to makes you feel nervous, maybe his avoidance of you this week has bothered you more than you would admit.

You don’t even realise that you have rooted yourself to the spot, until Beel gently places his hand across your back to guide you into the room and take a seat.

Mammon, Asmo and Belphie are all already seated around the room.

Belphie even has some papers with him, which he quickly hands off to Beel so that he can slouch back in the chair and pull his knees up to his chest with a sleepy yawn.

When you take the last available seat on a sofa between Satan and Asmo, the avatar of lust immediately squeezes your hand and leans over to coo into your ear, “Darling, you seem distracted. Maybe you need some **attention**.”.

He slides his hand up your palm and runs his finger in a circle against your wrist. The little patterns that he draws cause your skin to tingle, even through the fabric of your R.A.D. shirt.

You make no attempt to pull away from him, but you still flush at his implication in front of everyone.

When he places a soft kiss on the side of your neck it’s hard not to lean into him; His affections are doing nothing to calm your still heavily pounding heart. You’re aware that he probably senses this and is being opportunistic.

Although, you don’t think that you mind.

You catch the same quirk in Satan’s expression that had been there at R.A.D. earlier. He notices you looking at him though and quickly replaces it with his usual cool smile, before leaning back into the seat.

“That’s quite enough. Asmo can you **please** leave MC alone for the duration of this meeting.”, Lucifer’s perturbed voice prompts a pout to form on the fair-haired demon’s face.

He reluctantly withdraws his hand which had been making its way up to your elbow with featherlight trailing fingers.

You’re certain now that your blush must be tinting your ears and neck.

You fix your gaze onto the floor and hope there is no further mention of your new lover’s antics. Though you’re also quietly relieved that Lucifer intervened before Mammon noticed and caused a scene.

“If I must.”, Asmo rolled his eyes as he straightened back up in his seat. “Like you said, we will be done before dinner so I will only need to refrain for a short time anyway.”.

“What do ya mean only ‘a short time’? What are ya planning later!?”, Mammon practically snorts out some of the liquid he had been drinking as he splutters his questions, and you hear the faint crack of the can in his hand.

His eyes flash at his younger brother who breaks out in an entirely false coy smile.

You don’t know why Asmo enjoys teasing Mammon so much, but it always seems to bring his attention back around to you.

The avatar of lust briefly pats your knee and locks eyes with the second born, “I wasn’t planning anything, but now you point it out maybe I do have a few ideas for MC later.”.

There is another crack and liquid spills from the opening at the top of the can in Mammon’s hand, “Don’t ya dare get any ideas on my account. MC doesn’t need ya being a creep. Not that I care mind you! I’m just making sure she’s safe is all.”.

You see him clench his jaw and you start to dread a repeat of their scuffle after the tickling episode.

Once again, Lucifer’s irritated voice cuts through the argument, “You two can feel free to bicker later. We don’t have a lot of time this evening, so let’s move on to the point at hand – how are things coming along with your prom tasks?”.

You turn to face the eldest as he speaks, his face is stony, and he also clenches his own jaw after he finishes speaking.

“Actually that’s why I said I have an appointment this evening.”, Asmo answered his brother smoothly. “I’m going to the florist to pick out flowers for the table centers.”.

“Alone?”, Lucifer responded flatly.

“Well, yes. Satan has prior arrangements today.”, The demon beside you waved his hand dismissively.

Lucifer doesn’t appear to like his response though, you can see him sigh before he speaks again, “I do not want you having free reign in that store. Take MC with you.”.

Asmo smiles brightly. You’d normally be transfixed in that beautiful expression, but your attention is on Mammon who looks like he is about to explode.

Obviously noticing both of their behaviour Lucifer tuts, “Do not make me regret that decision.”.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and continues, “Any other updates on the theme decorations?”.

“Only that the design for the banners is finished now. So I’ll send it to MC later today. Then She and Mammon will be able to do the painting that she suggested.”, Satan spoke with a stoic expression as always.

You’re grateful that his input seems to help Mammon calm down, so you decide to capitalise on the idea to further distract him away from Asmo’s teasing. “I have no plans tomorrow. Are you guys free to do it then?”.

“Course I am. Ready whenever ya say.”, The second born seems to glow as he smiles so brightly. Then he seems to remember his current surroundings and waves his hands as he adds, “Ya know, someone’s gotta make sure ya don’t make a mess of it with ya human aesthetics.”.

You scowl at him and he silences himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking away from you.

“Moving on.”, Lucifer sighed again. “What was the talk of enchantments regarding, when you three arrived?”.

Levi looked up from his D.D.D. with an impassioned expression as he launched into his explanation, “Humans have these entertainment systems called ‘discos’, we’re going to order some to go with the live band. The lead singer likes them a lot and she really wants us to use them, says they are a quaint human touch. Honestly it’s just like that time in ‘Yuki’s musical adventures through the three realms with her sentient pet hamster and her teddy bear microphone’, where Yuki has to use human equipment to save an open air concert in the Devildom from the evil queen who hates magic being used for music, and believes that music is too pure for demons. I’m sure I can watch that again and figure out how to put one of these together at the castle.”

_‘Okay… maybe asking Levi to relate the prom to anime wasn’t the best idea.’_

You find yourself staring at the otaku as he rabbits away happily. You would never have believed that he would find this much enthusiasm for the whole thing when the tasks were announced last week.

You must admit, he looks adorable when he finds something to be passionate about, the smile on his face right now is definitely worth feeling mean for a while over using the fact that he needed to apologise to you as a bribe for him to join in.

There was a beat of silence and another sigh from Lucifer, “Can someone please translate what Leviathan just said for me?”.

There is more silence as Levi frowns, it dawns on you that you are probably the only person who understands that, so reluctantly you speak up, “Levi knows an anime that can help him figure out how the human machines work to recreate a human disco, and the band are going to help him.”.

You finish by crossing your arms and sitting back against the sofa with an unamused expression aimed directly at the eldest.

Of course, it is not his fault that he doesn’t understand Levi’s hobbies, but he could at least try to follow along when his brother is lighting up about things. His lack of willing to learn about those interests irritates you.

You sit in your quiet annoyance, half glad for it slowing your earlier swooning, watching as Lucifer nodded and continued, “So we are left with the final point – catering. Beel you said the menu is finalised?”.

The ginger demon looks up from a pack of snacks that Belphie had handed to him while everyone else was talking, “Yes. It’s made up of some of MC’s favourite things, and some things that we liked the most when we experimented with the human food. Barbatos is going to help us make some for dinner each day this week so everyone can try them and decide if we need to improve it.”.

He held up the papers that his twin had offloaded to him earlier and handed them out.

Belphie, now looks very much asleep on the chair beside him.

When Beel gets to you, you unfold your arms and accept the paper with a smile, though you don’t have time to look at it before Lucifer clears his throat and draws everyone’s gaze to him.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised that you’ve all put in so much effort so far. However, it is rare to see you all getting along so well. So, I’ll leave the rest of the organising in MC’s capable hands, since she is doing so well fixing your problems before they escalate to me at the moment.”, his dark hair sways a little as he turns to face you directly.

You’d been excited to read the menu, but now the pit of your stomach falls away under his stare and food is the last thing you want to focus on.

You feel like the way his bangs frame his steely eyes has no right to make him look this attractive. You bite your tongue to prevent you responding foolishly and winding up in close quarters, like you had after the last meeting.

He stares at you for a moment before adding, “I will be missing dinner this evening, Diavolo has called a meeting. So I trust you will all stay out of trouble while I am gone.”, he turns an icy gaze to Mammon, who shrinks a little in his seat and does his best attempt at an innocent expression.

“MC, I need to write a report on the progress so far. I will be in the study Sunday morning, I would appreciate it if you join me to finalise it.”, There is no doubt that Lucifer’s request is not one you should consider turning down, even though your mouth has suddenly gone dry and you’d rather do anything than be alone with him right now.

Slowly you nod, “Shall I join you after breakfast?”.

The avatar of pride smiles at you. You feel like the handsome expression should warm your heart, but all it does is put you on edge with the feeling that you shouldn’t have given him an offer to choose.

“I think you should have breakfast with me there instead. It’ll be a more efficient use of both of our time.”, his voice is even and calm as ever.

Then, Lucifer stands quickly, although still with his usual grace. “Meeting adjourned. For the love of Diavolo, try not to obliterate the house – or any other parts of the Devildom – while I am gone this evening.”, he pointedly glares at Satan before taking his leave.

The avatar of wrath ignores his older brother’s veiled accusation, simply smiling coolly in response

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long - even I was getting withdrawals from my own fantasy world.  
> ヾ(_ _*)  
> Doing adult stuff sucks.


	37. Unexpected Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC finds an unexpected gift hidden in her room, Asmo's explanation sends her into memories she'd rather not have, but it opens an opportunity for a soft moment between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: There is a flash back in this chapter to violence that happened at the Fall in previous chapters. There is a brief mention of stalking.

Despite Mammon and Asmo continuing to provoke each other, dinner went by in relative normality. You slipped away afterwards to get changed for your outing to the florist.

Now you are stood, half changed, in just a pair of wide leg cotton trousers and bra, staring at the draw you had opened to retrieve a top. Staring back at you, nestled among the clothing stored there, is an enormous bismuth crystal. It must be the size of a dinner plate.

You’ve seen them before, they are popular among crystal collectors in the human world, but it’s rare to see large pieces. You’d only ever seen pieces this size in books or museums because they break so easily into smaller fragments, they are normally inside glass cases.

Yet, here is one such example, hidden away in your draw of all places. You have no idea how it got there, and you’re frightened to touch it in case it breaks.

You can’t imagine how much this crystal could be worth, it’s certainly more money than you’d ever have to spare.

The rainbow coloured geometric shapes are hypnotising; it is incredibly beautiful. Hundreds of iridescent crystals stack onto each other forming something that could easily be used to design cyberpunk futuristic architecture.

You’re still watching the light from your lamps play off its surface when there is a faint knock at your door.

It is quickly followed by the sound of it softly opening and Asmo’s voice lilts from the aperture, “Darling, it looks like I came at the right time. Are you daring enough to let me convince you to wear exactly **that** on our excursion?”. 

“Absolutely not.”, you complain at him.

He is by your side in no time and curling an arm around your exposed back to pull you into him. He brushes your hair aside and kisses your neck. Then your lips, softly, lingeringly, before locking eyes with you when he pulls away.

“I knew you would say that. But can you blame a demon for trying?”, He winks as he releases you again, ensuring he trails his fingers lightly down your ribs as he does so.

The action causes goose bumps to form and a small shiver makes you miss his touch the instant that it leaves your skin.

You are in danger of giving into him then and there as a familiar heat rushes into your chest, and your heart picks up its pace.

You steel yourself though, the two of you have an arrangement for the evening and Lucifer would lose his mind if he found out you ditched the florist in favour of sexual exploits.

Besides that, you want his help with the mysterious appearance of this crystal.

“I can’t say you aren’t consistent.”, you tease back after a breath to calm yourself.

You turn to your draw and pull it out a little further gesturing for him to look inside, “I found this. Do you know anything about it?”.

The demon glanced inside and immediately smiled, he started gushing to you almost as quickly as the smile appeared, “Oh that’s exquisite. Almost as beautiful as me. You found it here? Darling, you have an admirer.”.

Asmo pauses to squeeze your shoulders tightly in excitement, “I’m so pleased for you. Someone is finally trying to get your attention. I wonder who it is?...wait, no. That’s worth a fortune. I **know** who it is.”. He ended with a devilish smirk.

His eyes are sparkling with their enchanting rose gold hue and he is practically bouncing, he is so excited.

You are confused though.

_‘How can he figure out all of that so quickly. Is this some demon thing?’_

After a few moments he notices your knitted brows and laughs, “You don’t see it?”.

He waves his hands and clasps them together under his chin with a romantic wistful look, “One of my brothers has gifted you this. It’s up to you to figure out who though, I can’t tell you, that would spoil it.”.

To add extra emphasis, he bops your nose with a finger and turns away towards the wardrobe.

“Anyway, those trousers are divine, I forbid you to wear a t-shirt with them. Let me choose a blouse.”, He opens the wardrobe doors with a flourish, and you are lost for words.

You feel like the crystal deserves to be out in the light and displayed, but you’re far to frightened to move the delicate structure, so you slowly and quietly close the draw while Asmo rummages through your other clothes.

“How do I thank them if I don’t know who it is? I don’t think I can accept something so valuable.”, you call to him past the furniture doors.

The demon pokes his head out with a purple blouse in his hand.

“You can reject it if you like. But, you should remember that that is effectively rejecting your admirer too.”, he holds the hanger against you and shakes his head.

You aren’t sure you like that thought, “So I have to accept all gifts if I don’t want to push them away? Even if they are insanely expensive?”.

Asmo waved a hand, “It’s beautiful, love. I’d keep it if I were you. Besides, demons can give some very unusual courtship gifts, you’re lucky it isn’t some dangerous slimy Devildom creature for a pet.”.

A brief look of concern washed over his face, “Remind me to tell Levi that he is only allowed to send you human realm gifts.”.

He quickly placed the hanger back onto the rail and picks out another blouse.

You aren’t sure if he is teasing you right now.

You definitely don’t want any weird creatures.

_‘Would Levi really do that?’_

The fair-haired demon picks the new blouse from the hanger and holds it out to you, “This one.”.

He didn’t really need to have announced it, the look on his face tells you he’s made up his mind.

You take the blouse and shrug it on, it’s a gathered white cotton with cute black velvet poke-a-dots. You tuck it in and turn to look in the mirror, Asmo gently tugs at the end of it to make a soft pillow of cotton around the high waist band of your trousers.

“Beautiful”, he coos softly near to your ear as he wraps his arms around your waist. He rests his head on your shoulder and looks at you both in the mirror with a contented sigh.

“Asmo, am I likely to get more of those gifts?”, you ask tentatively.

He squeezes you gently and places a kiss on your neck, “Probably. Unless you tell whoever it is that you accept them and don’t need any more gifts. You could just let them continue sending them, I receive dozens of gifts every week. You’ve seen my fan mail, it’s adorable.”.

You have seen his fan mail, you don’t think you would describe some of the blatant filth in them as ‘adorable’. Some of them give you a stalker vibe too, it’s a good job he is as powerful as he is and able to defend himself.

Though you have to admit that, although he generally attracts a lot of attention when you are out, no one has attempted to be creepy towards him. Perhaps most demons just know better than to bother him and his brothers.

You have a brief flash back to how angry Asmo looked that night he defended you.

Honestly you can’t see why anyone would take their chances when he has that kind of power. A lump forms in your throat when the memory also brings back the voice of the vile demon who had charmed you, ‘You’re not to speak again.’. A deafening silence shrouds you, following those words.

You swallow and shake your head, those are not thoughts that you want to allow to own space in your mind, but you can smell the damp ground of the alleyway and remember the feeling of a hand on your throat.

The chill of the night air, and the darkness creeps in as the room falls away from around you; You can clearly envision the brick work of the wall you had been held against.

You hold your breath.

Your own hand floats up to touch the remnants of the bruise from that night.

It has broken up now and all that remains is a few light brown patches, you have used the cream regularly as instructed and it has done its job wonderfully.

Asmo watches your hand travel up to your neck, and notices your eyes glaze over with a distant stare, he stiffens immediately and spins you to face him, “Where are you going in that head of yours? What’s wrong darling?”.

He dips his knees until you are the same height and looks into your eyes with worried inquisition. The sound of his voice had dissipated the scene from your memory, and now the expression written across his face pulls you back to reality with a start.

You wave your arms as you heave a breath when your lungs remind you that you had been holding onto it.

“I’m sorry. I … uh.”, you drop your eyes away from his gaze, and search for anything to focus on other than the man in front of you. He rubs his hands along your arms gently while he waits for you to answer.

“I was just thinking about last time we went out together.”, your voice is quiet, and you have barely finished your sentence when he captures you in his arms almost lifting you off the floor when he straightens.

He holds you for a few moments in silence, you would honestly not mind if the two of you just stayed this way for the rest of the evening.

You can feel his body warmth against you, the heat seeps into your bones and helps you forget about the cold of the alleyway. You can smell his perfume, today it’s an interesting spicey mix, it reminds you of mulled wine. Probably chosen precisely so that he will still stand out among the flowers.

You sigh softly and let yourself rest against his body, secure in his arms.

Asmo lifts his head to speak tenderly to you, “I will never let anything like that happen to you again. Neither will any of my brothers.”.

After he speaks, he steps away from you. You instantly miss the comfort, but he tilts your chin to direct your eyes to his, “Please Darling, do not worry that these gifts might be connected. I know my brothers; this is definitely the good kind of attention.”.

You sigh, and release the tension you hadn’t been aware of holding in your shoulders.

The molten rose gold irises peer at you softly as a smile creeps onto his lips, he drops a hand to your ribs faster than you can react. Before you have a chance to block him, he tickles your side and you immediately erupt in giggles.

Your skin tingles, your breath faulters between laughs, and your heart is racing. The ticklish sensation has you floundering to prevent it, as you fold to the side and try to capture his hand under your arm in order to stop him, but fail miserably.

Just as swiftly as his first hand, he reaches the other out to brush the opposite side of your ribs. This time though you spin away from him spluttering a weak request for him to stop.

He stretches forward to recapture you, and you feel him place a collection of butterfly soft kisses on your neck.

Once he is satisfied with the number of kisses gifted to you, and the wide smile that now reaches your eyes, he releases you with a pat on your butt.

You catch your breath as he collects your bag from the table to hold it out to you, “As much as I’d like to spend all evening seeing what reactions I can draw from touching you… we have an appointment to make.”.

You pout at him and take the bag with a wink, “Shame. That sounds fun.”.

Asmo hums at you and you see a mischievous sparkle in his eye, “Play time can wait. First let’s introduce you to the magic of Devildom flowers. Hmm, isn’t anticipation delightful?”.

You can’t stop the blush that dusts your cheeks and the demon beside you giggles as he nudges you towards the door.


	38. Petals, and vines, and sentient beings. Oh my!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asmo introduces you to the enigmatic florist Willow.
> 
> Everything about the florist is mysterious, especially their friendship with Asmo... but not nearly as intriguing as the content of their store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No content warnings that I can think of. If you spot any, please let me know and I will update.
> 
> Check the end of the chapter for a mood board I made while thinking about this and the way the tables might be decorated at the prom. (google Docs link).

The journey to the florist is over quicker than you would have thought.

You have not been to the store before and it is closer than you had anticipated. Though, it is probably for the best, since Asmo had spent your walk bubbling about how many Devilgram likes he was going to get for a few selfies he had convinced you to take with him along the way.

He had gushed about how beautiful you are and how, in turn, that makes him look even more beautiful, and swooned about how he believed that the two of you were going to be extremely popular. All of this, in between salacious touches to your waist and the curve of your breast, and light kisses on your hands and neck.

You felt embarrassed by the glances from onlookers at his public display of affection, but you suppose it must be normal behaviour for the inhabitants of the Devildom, it is not like lust demons are uncommon here and they certainly don’t seem to mind their antics. In fact, the only people you have heard berating Asmo for such things were his own brothers. Even Diavalo seems to view him as more charmingly amusing than a purveyor of perversion.

By the time you reach the store your embarrassment has subsided, and your own ponderings have you feeling more open to allow this kind of behaviour more often. All of this though, is soon forgotten as you approach the brightly coloured displays outside the shop window. It is captivating, as you suppose is the intention of any storefront.

You pause to admire the blooms carefully set out in the display buckets. One catches your attention almost immediately, a large flower, easily the size of an outstretched palm. It has the most curiously deep shade of black to it’s petals, darker than any you have seen back home, and the petals are so numerous that it could easily rival carnations or peonies. Leaning forward to take a closer look, you can see that the delicate velveteen structure also had a navy sheen to them that moved along the petal as the light hit it.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you sweetie.”, the curt voice startles you and you shoot upright with a guilty look across your face. Your heart jumps into your throat for a second, and the surprise makes you feel like a small child being caught with a hand full of candy in the grocery store. You turn to face its owner and find a short but incredibly elegant creature with their horns and tail on full display, gracefully peeking through their simple brown dress and tilted wide brimmed hat.

They notice your expression and smile casually, “Oh don’t misunderstand me lovely. I don’t think you’re a thief or anything… the nectar of those flowers causes necrotising fasciitis on contact with human skin.”.

You look back at the flowers with a mix of horror and wonder.

_‘How can they say something so gruesome, so casually?’_

The florist turned to Asmo with a scowl, “You should have told me that you were bringing guests. I would have moved all the dangerous plants to the side for her.”.

Asmo didn’t seem phased by their childing, he smiled brightly at them, taking their hands in his as he greeted them with a kiss on either cheek, “I didn’t know I’d have the pleasure of my favourite human’s company either. Lucifer made the decision for us this afternoon.”.

He turned to you reaching out his hand to beckon you forward, and you comply quietly as he continues, “Willow, this beautiful woman is MC. MC please meet Willow, the best and most powerful botanist that this realm has known for centuries.”.

Willow side eyed him and tutted, “That would have been my mother. Still, I guess it’s me at present.”.

They turn to you with a smile, “Anyway dear, don’t mind my appearance. I have a rather unassuming shop to keep safe. Horns on full display outside of a formal occasion are apparently a useful deterrent. You two had better come in so we can get this show on the road.”.

The florist turned away and led you both into an old-world store that reminded you of the crooked house nursery rhyme. Heavy wooden beams stretched haphazardly around the walls and ceiling, columns were straining to support it in seemingly nonsensical places. Rows of tilted flowerpot stands formed narrow aisles that weren’t straight either and the room was dusky with a fine haze sitting in the air.

A pleasant smell greeted you at much the same time as a gentle warmth inside the building softly billowed around you. There were hypnotizingly intricate flower heads and curiously coloured foliage arranged into some semblance of a rainbow through out the potted rows.

“Oh, make sure to follow in the same row as me sweetheart. Asmo might talk a good talk of romance and flowers when he wants someone’s body, but honestly he couldn’t name half the flowers in here never mind work out which ones aren’t safe for you.”, The shop keep’s voice was curiously teasing as they pointed the way down a central aisle.

Asmo gasped and struck the back of his palm to his forehead dramatically, “Willow! Don’t paint me like that, you make it sound like I am so fickle.”

They cocked an eyebrow at him and chose only to tut in response, before turning away again to lead you through the plants. At the end of the aisle the shop opened brightly into a wrought iron and glass orangery. This part of the shop smelled like a rain forest; you assume this is why the store is so warm.

Half a dozen steps spanned the width of the orangery leading down into the enchanting space that was flooded with a vaguely unnatural, but very alluring, light. The two demons started to descend towards an overly ornate enormous potting table that was lavishly piled with flowers ready for today’s meeting.

You are stock still however, in awe of the trees and vines that climbed the iron work, their sweetly scented tubular flowers dangled delicately from the highest limbs across the roof.

“Ohh-wohoo, don’t stand there for too long, if Agnes gets a firm hold she’s like a limpet and we won’t be able to free you for a few days.”, Willow waved past you as they spoke.

You felt a faint tickle at your ankle for a fraction of a second before you found yourself being tugged into Asmo’s side with more force than you feel is necessary.

Your brow begins to crease at him, when your attention is caught by the sound of a disappointed squeal behind you. Snapping your head towards the sound you are just quick enough to see a thorny tendril retreating to an enormous twisted vine which gave a few more disgruntled squeaks before sulkily turning it’s leaves away from the three of you.

“Never mind her. She’ll get over it and turn back to let you pet her later if you’re careful.”, Willow pulled a few stools out from beneath the table as they spoke. “Come, sit.”.

Asmo loosened his hold on you, but carefully guided you down the remainder of the steps by your hand, in a way that reminded you of the renaissance films you’d all watched together a few days ago.

_‘How gentlemanly. It oddly suits him.’_

Even while thinking about your companion’s brief show of chivalry you can’t resist turning back to sneak another look at Agnes.

Her vines were woody and twisted around each other at the center to form an intricately tangled trunk of sorts. Further out, the vines softened to a vivid cerulean blue that shimmered with a pearlescent webbing which stretched all the way to the tips of her bright amethyst leaves.

The apparently sentient vine stretched so high that she weaved out through open panes of glass and covered the outside back wall of the building like ivy.

You’ve been in the devildom long enough to feel like the existence of beings like Agnes shouldn’t surprise you, but you’re still unsure how to feel about a plant like this, when the only reference you have for it is the littlest pet shop’s Audrey.

You can’t keep your mind from wandering as you take a seat at the table with the others.

_‘I wonder if she has a mouth in there somewhere.’_

_‘If it would be days until they get me out, what would she want me for if she also enjoys being pet?’_

_‘Who on earth named her ‘Agnes’ of all things?’_

You wrinkle your nose before turning your attention back towards the potting table.

“I spent the last three days acquiring everything Satan asked for.”, Willow waved their hand at the mesmerising pile on the table. “I hope the two of you are going to make my next visit easier, do you have any idea how hard it is to get past Lucifer and into the Human Realm?”, they quirked an eyebrow with an inquiring hum.

Asmo squeezed your thigh under the table but smiled calmly at Willow while you jump in surprise. “Don’t worry. Once approved Diavalo will order a pass for you to go and collect everything we need.”, his even voice would never give away that his fingers are playing at the side of your thigh and threatening to move higher.

You nudge his hand away as subtly as you can manage.

The shop keeper grins at you. “And… you needn’t worry either sweetie. Asmo knows I’ll feed him to the bog if he attempts any hanky panky inside my store.”.

They give the man beside you a pointed look before gently pushing some mounds of flowers toward you.

You can’t hold back a giggle. You already like Willow, not many people can get away with saying such things to Asmo. His face sours though, “Ugh, that place is disgusting.”.

They smirk back, “And smells like buffalo toad piss.”

The fifth born wrinkles his nose at that and looks nauseous for a moment too.

Willow taps the table to draw your attention back to the flowers, “I’ve arranged them all by growing season, so all you need to do is choose the ones you like. I recommend a variety of heights and flower sizes for each table center, and I have some lovely wisteria for the side tables and stage.”

You look at the flowers with a pang of nostalgia, you recognise a lot of them. You remember seeing many around your home and out in the wild over the years.

Then a though strikes you, “How do you have flowers from all four seasons here, all fresh and in bloom at the same time?”.

Willow tilts their head at you and beams at Asmo, “Hmm, she’s a smart one. Honestly, I didn’t know if you’d pick up on that. It’s all down to demon magic of course. I speak kindly to the plants and wake them from hibernation, they give me their blooms, then I ‘freeze them’, so to speak.”

You have no idea how much magic that would take, but judging by Asmo’s earlier enthusiasm for Willow’s power, you imagine that it is no meagre feat. You smile, picking up a nearby lily to smell it, then sigh, appreciating the familiarity.

Rummaging through the wide selection of flowers was exciting, it made you feel a little like sharing a part of your home Asmo. The process took much longer than you would have guessed it would.

By the time the three of you have nailed down your selections, along with vase and ribbon colours, the unnatural light in the orangery had faded and been replaced by soft blue illuminations inside each of the delicate little flowers along its roof. Although, that is the only indication that so much time had passed, you feel like the evening has disappeared in the blink of an eye.

You thank Willow for their hospitality and Asmo finalises the order details, then you both carefully make your way back up the stairs towards the front of the shop, while they busy themselves packing away the flowers.

As you reach the top of the stairs and pass into the shop though, there is a whine that reminds you of a puppy. The sound is clear and tugs at your heart strings, so you turn back so see where it came from.

You don’t see any animals though.

Willow also looks up from the potting table at the sound and chuckles, “Well, well… looks like a certain stroppy vine has decided she does want your attention after all.”.

They fish something out of the table and bring it over to you gently placing it in your hand.

You raise your hand and stare at it in confusion, “Is this a peach?”.

“Absolutely, it’s her favourite food.”, the shopkeeper nods with a wink.

You look from the fruit to Willow and back down to it again.

_‘I guess this is for Agnes.’_

_‘Wait, she EATS these?’_

Willow hums, “All living things need to eat sweetie. In their own way.”

They shrug as your eyes widen, sure that you hadn’t spoken aloud.

Then they lead the way back to the top of the steps and poke the vine gently, “Come on then moody. The lady doesn’t have all day to wait for your tantrums.”.

Agnes shakes and all her leaves rustle pleasantly as the vine appears to grunt. But, shortly after, the beautiful amethyst leaves turn their top faces toward you.

When you step forward to stand next to the florist, a soft low vibration ripples out from the vine. She creeps a few tendrils out towards you, which Willow immediately taps firmly.

With another grunt the tips of the plant retreat again. “Do you want her to feed you or not? You can’t keep her, so don’t even try.”.

The vine shakes again, and you’re convinced that this would be extremely dangerous if not for the presence of your new acquaintance.

Some noises of disappointment come out from Agnes.

This new mood dissipates quickly though and there is another pleasant rustling of the leaves.

Slowly the barky trunk area is uncovered by the younger tendrils, it unfurls like a lazy cat, which you find strangely endearing. The thick central vines also untangle to reveal a small recess in the wall behind. It has its own tiny arch over it and is back lit by a warm orange light.

“Pop it on the ledge and Agnes will do the rest.”, Willow inclines their head towards the newly exposed recess.

It takes a steadying breath to not to let nerves overtake you, you aren’t sure the idea of putting your hand between those vines is a good one.

You look back towards the store font, Asmo is now leaning against the opening to the orangery, watching you with a warm smile.

He doesn’t seem phased in the slightest and you’re sure he would warn you if he thought this wasn’t safe.

_‘Well, here goes nothing.’_

You hold your breath as you reach between the vines and gently place the fruit onto the shelf within the recess. Then you use more will power than you would like to admit, not to retract your hand in a snap and be rude.

_‘Can a plant be offended?’_

The florist chuckles as the vines close back over the recess and you let out the breath you were holding. There is a series of happy sounding chirps from Agnes and she rustles again.

You can’t help but smile at the sound, this sentient plant is actually pretty cute.

Just as your pondering that about her though, the peach pit is ejected out towards Willow who catches it with a scowl, “I’ll pretend that you did not just aim that at me Madam. You’re lucky you were fed today at all. Now be nice and say goodnight.”

A thrill of chirps escapes Agnes, and she rustles her leaves, raising a tendril which she shapes into the outline of a hand and waves back and forth. You immediately feel a rush of affection from the action.

“That is an adorable wave”, you giggle out as florist gives the vine another sharp prod.

“See, I told you she isn’t that bad.” They wink at you as they usher you back into the main store front.

As you exit through the same door that you had entered previously this evening, Willow nudges Asmo’s ribs, “Right, it’s getting late. Asmo, look after this one. Take her home, I like her.”. Then with a sweet smile and pleasant wave towards you they add, “Do try to keep him out of trouble wont you? Good night lovely.”

Asmo doesn’t give you a chance to respond, whisking you away while his cheeks flush.

You swear you can see the heated tone reach all the way around the back of his neck as he tugs you away.

With a chuckle you manage to call out a quick thank you and goodnight to your host for the evening before your lover practically drags you around a corner.

He immediately plants his lips on yours before you can voice any of your curiosity about the way Willow treats him.

You guess that is a history you can ask about at another time.

You have to admit though, he looks adorable with that cute, embarrassed blush.

Now you can’t wait to get him back to the house of Lamentation and it seems he feels the same. Not even waiting to break the kiss before he starts walking you backwards along the street towards home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it! I finally managed to get a spare moment to update our prom journey. =^.^=  
> Thank you to anyone who has been patiently waiting for so long. 
> 
> Life has thrown a lot of unexpected hurdles at me of late, but we are back on track now and I'm so happy to be writing for this story again. <3  
> I hope you enjoy.
> 
> ^*Sings 1990'1 'Ground Force' theme song.*^ - FLOWER MOOD BOARD LINK 
> 
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/13m3Gq61E1qd_XIBoVi6I8mFgZHDgq0FM8SkbQutViBw/edit?usp=sharing


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